It Was Happiness
by tuckp3
Summary: college huddy. au beginning fic set in michigan, during the 80s.
1. Chapter 1

The blue paint cut down the middle of his chest stretching and rippling as he screamed insults at the opposing team. The student section was packed since it was the Ohio State game, and she had been focusing on the field until the group of shirtless fans tramped in halfway into the first quarter. They came in screaming, running up and down the bleachers their painted chests proclaiming their loyalty to the Wolverines and riling up everyone in the section.

She was drawn to the first "I" in "Michigan," and as they passed she caught his eye - he stumbling and her breath hitching as blue tangled with grey. She had trouble focusing for the rest of the game, sneaking looks at the group several rows ahead of her in the grad section. Her eyes roaming over him; his straight spine accented by the two dimples that indented either side of the base of his lower back just at hip level, his jeans riding low and the top curves of his ass peaking out. She stared at the brown curls brushing the nape of his neck and the veins that followed the length of his arms as he raised his fist to cheer.

A few times he turned, searching her out - they locked eyes and he scanned over her body, her pert breasts encased in a yellow Michigan jersey and what he could see of her legs always coming back to her eyes - the world seemed to dissipate but then a roar from the crowd or a jostle from a fellow fan would break the spell.

Just before the second quarter she made her way out to the concession stand to get a coke. She was standing in line waiting when someone came up behind her enveloping her and covering her eyes with their hands.

"Guess who?" the voice whispered against her ear right ear, the tendrils that had loosened from her ponytail blowing against her cheek and tickling his nose.

She felt the moist warm heat emanating from the body that was wrapped around her. She grabbed the wrists pulling them forward to remove the hands from her eyes and spun around, turning her chest towards the body that had been flush against her backside. Though she was a little startled by his actions, she wasn't surprised to see those blue eyes. She just stood there staring.

His hands went to her waist pushing her back a step, his fingers slipping into her belt loops, and thumbs brushing the tops of her pockets. Her hands came up to rest against his bare shoulders - which were starting to redden from the sun and his lack of a shirt - her fingertips lightly pressing into the bone to maintain her balance, and slipping a little in the light sheen of sweat that covered his body. They stood that way in silence, taking steps and staring into each others eyes, searching, questioning and saying nothing their breath mingling until he leaned around her and she heard him ordering chili cheese nachos.

"And...?" he said his hand pressing the question into her hip.

"I'll have a coke," she replied distractedly, stepping out of his loosened embrace and away from the pressure of his hand.

He paid and they stood waiting for their order. They took the food and drink heading back towards the stands. She sipped from her straw glancing at him from her peripheral, a smile playing at her lips as he hungrily dipped into his nachos as they were walking, some of the cheese dripping onto his chin. They stopped in the shade at the end of the tunnel, watching him lick the chili cheese from his fingertips, she couldn't help but steal a cheese covered chip for herself. He was a little stunned by her taking his food, but smirked as she sucked her fingers into her mouth her eyes challenging him to say something. He didn't.

"It's Greg, by the way, you know, so next time you'll know 'who'," he said with a wink.

She smiled and took a sip of her coke, "Lisa."

"Lisa," he repeated stretching her name out on his tongue, tilting his head to the side and studying her face before leaning over to take a long draw of her coke, his eyes never leaving hers and her fingers only marginally tightening around the cup.

"Well... I gotta get back; "Michigan" just isn't the same without "I" you know". His eyes sparkled as he turned and headed back into the stadium, glancing back once before jogging down the steps.

She nodded and watched him turn and jog down the steps, smiling when he glanced back, her tongue darting out and mouth closing over her straw wondering at the taste of Greg.


	2. Chapter 2

The frat basement was stifling hot as packed as it was with the revelers celebrating Michigan's win over Ohio State. Lisa readily accepted the plastic red cup, downing a few gulps before being pulled by her wrist into the gyrating mass of dancing coeds. She was sweating and smiling and leaning against her roommate as they swayed to the fast paced beat of the song. Her eyelids drooped as she let the music flow through her slightly lethargic body; her heartbeat speeding up to match the pace.

Greg made his way through the throngs of students, his eyes scanning each face as it was momentarily illuminated in the strobing lights. He had consumed his fair share of drinks, but this was the sixth frat he had been to that evening and all the walking around campus was bringing his buzz down.

The rest of the lacrosse team had stayed behind at their last stop, but he had insisted that he wasn't in the mood for hanging out on the rooftop and smoking up. He made his way along the wall studying the amoebic mass, stopping and closing his eyes in an attempt to acclimate to the moist heat.

It was when he opened his eyes that he spotted Lisa. Her chin was resting on the shoulder of a slightly shorter brunette. He was transfixed to the spot watching her body swaying. Her eyes were almost closed and her lips moved slightly mouthing the lyrics of the song as her index finger traced the brim of the cup hanging limply in her hand. Her hair was no longer in a ponytail and sweaty tendrils clung to her forehead and along the sides of her neck.

He watched as her head tipped forward, her free hand coming up to swipe the hair back from her face. Her eyes cracked open and shifted idly around the room until she met his intense gaze. She stopped moving and smiled.

Greg pushed off of the wall and made his way to her.

"Hey." He said stopping a half a foot short of her.

"Hey, _Who_." She smirked. "Here. Drink," Lisa commanded, extending her cup to Greg. He dutifully took it, grasping her fingers with his free hand. He downed the rest of her beer and pulled her towards him in one fluid movement.

Lisa turned her head into his chest feeling the vibrations of his body against her cheek as he swallowed. He smelled nice, like clean cotton. She loosed her hand from his grasp, and encircled her arms around his waist, her fingers entwining across his lower back. Her body relaxed into him with a relieved exhalation as though she had been waiting on him to arrive. She did not know why, but there was _something_ about him. She had only just met him briefly at the game earlier today, but somehow she felt like she was holding a part of her future. It scared her and she reflexively pressed her palms into his flesh as if testing his corporeality.

Greg finished the drink letting the empty cup fall to the floor. He moved his hands to cup her elbows, sliding them up her arms and coming to rest along the sides of her neck. He grazed his thumbs lightly under her chin and along her jaw before turning her face up towards his.

Lisa was a least a foot and a half shorter than him and he would have to bend down if he was going to kiss her. He wasn't ready for that just yet.

"So..." Greg drew out casually.

"Hmm?" Lisa returned.

Greg bent down and whispered into her ear, "I think I like you."

His voice and his words sent a tingle down Lisa's spine. She closed her eyes and took a moment to find her voice before responding a little breathlessly,"Of course you do."

Greg chuckled. She was going to be fun. He turned his nose into her neck nuzzling into her scent."You smell like a sweaty green apple; salty and sweet, with a bit of tartness," he informed her.

"Do I?" Lisa responded, raising her her eyebrows thoughtfully.

"Yeah. You do. You want to get out of here?" He asked, leaning back and looking down at her questioningly.

Lisa's tongue came out briefly before she bit her lip in thought. She looked at Greg contemplatively for several beats before offering a one word reply,"Sure."

Lisa untangled from their embrace and turned towards the brunette. She took hold of her upper arm, leaning towards her ear and letting her know that she was leaving with Greg. Her roommate looked at them through bleary eyes, giggling as she remembered Greg from his earlier stadium antics and telling Lisa to be safe before hugging her and saying that she would see her tomorrow.

The two wound their way out of the basement, having to stop quite a few times as Greg was engaged in conversation by drunken grad students and several girls who seemed not to notice or maybe just didn't care that his hand was entwined with Lisa's.

Lisa watched his interactions, especially with the girls. He seemed dismissive with most of the grad students and was flirty, but standoffish with the other females - some of whom had clearly slept with him before given the way their hands touched his body familiarly and the glares they shot in her direction. She was not surprised that he seemed to be rather well known, but it was slightly off putting that he was obviously popular with other women. She did not dwell on it though because it was not like she was going to sleep with him. Well not tonite, anyway.

The night air was a welcome shock to their system, it smelt of damp fall leaves and cool air. They made their way out of the front yard, walking aimlessly - not touching and not speaking - until they had cleared the radius of the music emanating from the party. They came came to a stop at a corner several blocks from the frat house.

Greg stood with a single foot dangling off the curb as he anchored himself using the pole of a street sign. He began leisurely swinging his body back and forth as he maintained a wobbly balance on the edge of the curb. Lisa placed her left hand above his on the cold metal and her right below; her pinkie and forefinger lightly brushing his hand as she watched him.

"So Lisa... you got a last name?" Greg enquired thoughtfully.

"Yep," she smirked.

He rolled his eyes at her non-answer, "That was your cue to tell me."

"Oh, sorry." She responded playfully. "Let's run that line again?" she insisted.

"Not interested anymore." He returned stubbornly, spinning his foot to turn directions as he switched hands on the pole.

She tilted her head and smiled, "Let me know when you are." She looked up and down the street before returning her gaze to him, "Where to now?"

"I'm following you." Greg informed her coming to a stop, putting his other hand on the pole and both feet on the curb.

"Ah." Lisa responded clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth and leaning away from the pole, half swinging.

"Ah." Greg mimicked.

"Well... I'm too tired to walk anymore, so I insist on a piggy back ride." She responded, raising an eyebrow at him challengingly.

"Huh? What are you five?" Greg said making a face and spinning halfway around the pole to bump her shoulder. She stuck her tongue out at him and pushed his shoulder lightly, sending him swaying back the other way. He let go of the pole and hopped off the curb, bending his knees slightly to account for her height, and looking over his shoulder. "Okay, hop on."

"You sure you can handle me?" She teased, stepping to the edge of the curb.

"I can _more_ than handle you." Greg shot back as he ran his eyes in a slow path up her body, finishing with a crooked grin and an arrogant gaze.

"We'll see." Lisa retorted with a flirty grin.

"I hope so. Come on, giddy up before I change my mind." He commanded, bracing himself and using his right hand to smack his ass cheek.

Lisa laughed and quickly jumped up on his back. She wrapped her legs around his waist and slinked her arms around his shoulders. He grasped her thighs, easily standing upright and shifted her further up his back. The feel of her thighs pressing against the sides of his body and her breasts and stomach rubbing his back made his breath hitch and 'little greg' stir. He pushed the latter thought to the back of his mind, adjusted her comfortably and began heading towards the main strip of stores and restaurants.

"Mmm. This is so much better than walking." Lisa mumbled, swinging her dangling legs back and forth and stretching her feet in her shoes.

"Says the person not carrying the eight hundred pounds on their back." Greg gruffed.

"Hey!" Lisa took offense to the comment about her weight and swatted his chest.

"Your ass is hu- Ow!" He flinched, cutting off his retort, when she hit him. "Be careful or I might drop you." He taunted, loosening his grip in revenge.

"Greg!" She reprimanded, fearfully tightening her hold on him."You better not drop me." She warned keeping a good grip on him.

They walked in silence for a few blocks, before Greg came to a stop and readjusted Lisa on his back.

"So where to, your highness?" He questioned, affecting a British accent.

"Me thinkst we are in need of sustenance Milord." Lisa grinned, mimicking his accent somewhat nasally.

"Her highness' thoughts are equal to thine own." Greg replied, after chuckling at her horrible attempt to sound English.

Greg started walking again. The conversation continued on, becoming a brief argument over which eating establishment to go to and slowly tapered off with Greg winning by threatening to make her walk if they went to the place she preferred.

He had been carrying her for several blocks when he felt her lips brush the side of his neck, and her nose poking his skin as her head lolled to his shoulder. Her body suddenly becoming a limp weight on his back. He tightened his hold on her realising she must have passed out.

"Shit."


	3. Chapter 3

Greg was half sitting on the windowsill when he heard Lisa beginning to stir. His eyes were closed, and his forehead was propped against the glass pane soaking in the coolness from the outside - a welcome contrast to the heat radiating throughout his room. He turned toward the bed, lowering his right leg from the windowsill and crossed it over his left at the ankles. He watched as she turned onto her back; her hands coming up to rub across her face and stopping to apply pressure to her eyes before coming to rest as she cupped her cheekbones.

"Ugh." Lisa groaned.

She moved her hands from her face and laid them across her chest as she stared at the ceiling. Her body felt dehydrated and she had a bit of a headache. She felt heavy from the heat and her clothes were uncomfortable against her sweaty skin. She smelled like cigarette smoke and her mouth had the bitter, dry aftertaste of too much alcohol.

She rolled to her side pressing her face into the cool sheet. From her new vantage point, she surveyed the room, well what there was to survey as it was pretty bare. Besides the rather large bed that she was in, there was a bedside table with a clock and lamp, some piles of clothes on the floor, two overflowing waste bins and a wooden desk littered with books, papers, records, tapes, and a really, really old typewriter.

There was nothing on the walls except a large framed print of an orange and yellow painting that hung above the desk. She stared at the print intently; it seemed to contrast everything else in the room. It was vibrant and pulsating, yet it was not cheery; despite it's brilliant colors there was something sad and enigmatic about it.

Greg watched as she took in his room - her eyes scanning the floor, the desk and walls and coming to rest on the print above his desk.

"It's a Rothko." Greg offered, as if that was explanation enough.

Lisa arched her head towards the sound of his voice, nodding slightly in acknowledgment of his words and squinting her eyes at the light. He was perched on the window sill, his hands splayed at his side supporting his weight and sunlight filtering in behind him. It was late enough that the rays illuminated a few dust particles as they floated to the ground. He had on the same "I heart Toxic Waste" t-shirt from the night before and his jeans fit loosely, hanging low on his hips, the length of them exposing only his toes and front of his feet.

He was watching her and when she turned to him his lips pursed together, his brow creasing as he studied her face. She didn't say anything just stared back at him.

When her arm fell off the side of the bed, her fingertips running along the wooden bed frame, he uncrossed his legs and pushing himself off the windowsill. He walked over to the desk, picking up the mug of water and two aspirin that he had retrieved for her earlier.

He walked over to the bed and crouched down in front of her, extending his hand palm up with the white pills in the center as he offered her the mug. She propped herself up on her right elbow, reaching out to take the pills with her left hand. Her fingertips brushed his palm as she removed the pills slipping them into her mouth, before grasping the mug handle. She washed down the aspirin and gratefully downed the rest of the water before handing him back the mug. She slumped back onto the bed, her arm falling across her chest and her eyes never leaving his face.

"Thanks." Lisa mumbled with gratitude.

Greg set the cup on the floor next to the bed, and placed his hands on his knees. He rocked slowly back and forth on his heels as he watched her lying on the bed. His fingers began to rise and fall in a cascade, playing a slow rhythm across his kneecaps, as he studied her face.

"It's a little past noon, so at least we missed the awkward 'morning after' part." Greg teased with a grin, glancing over at the clock on his bedside table.

"There's that." Lisa lightly snorted. "Didn't get to miss out on the pounding headache though." She continued with little enthusiasm. "I should get up." She offered.

"Only if you want." Greg told her."I don't make a habit of throwing hot chicks out of my bed."

Lisa looked away for several moments, staring at a point over his shoulder before tentatively beginning,"I... I don't remember how I got here. I trust you... but..."

"You shouldn't." His voice was even, but there was a bit of sadness to it.

She did not respond, instead she continued to stare past his shoulder a slight red flush coloring her cheeks. He considered her thoughtfully, his left hand reaching out and brushing the hair out of her face.

At the touch of his hand, she turned to face him.

His hand moved down and took hold of hers, his thumb caressing back and forth across her knuckles. "When you passed out on my back, I thought I was going to drop you since you couldn't hold on to me. I shifted you into a Fireman's hold. The entire walk back to my apartment, I was certain that the cops or someone was going to stop me and arrest me for carrying around a passed out girl on my shoulder."

"Oh my god," She whispered. She closed her eyes in embarrassment, her right hand coming up to cover her mouth as she felt the heat in her cheeks flare even more.

"It's fine. Well it is now, you know, since I didn't get hauled off to jail or something. On the bright side, now I know why fireman hold people over their shoulder: you felt a good hundred pounds lighter and I had a great view of your ass. Which, by the way, is really spectacular and quite firm." She blushed further, and the corners of his mouth lifted in a faint smirk as he remembered being distracted by the view of that ass out of the corner of his eye.

"Thanks." She said sarcastically, rolling her eyes at his comments about her weight and her ass. "I didn't drink enough to blackout, so I would remember if we...umm...We didn't _do_ anything did we?"

"No." Greg replied.

"Okay." Lisa sighed, relieved to know she had not had sex with him.

He tightened his grip on her hand, "I don't take advantage of women like that. When we got here, I took off your shoes and put you in my bed. I monitored you for a bit to make sure you weren't showing signs of alcohol poisoning and then I got in bed and went to sleep. That was all. Not even a good night kiss."

"I don't usually do things like this," she told him honestly. "Thank you for not taking advantage."

Greg nodded, "Just remember not all guys are as chivalrous." He stated seriously.

She squeezed his hand, nodding her head in acknowledgment.

He was feeling the strain of crouching in front of the bed and stood up. He removed his hand from her's and splayed both of his on the mattress next to her stomach as he leaned over her.

"Scoot." He ordered, first pressing his hands into the mattress to bounce her and then lifting them and pushing the fingertips into her stomach as he urged her towards the middle of the bed. "If you're just going to lie there, I may as well join you."

Lisa pressed up from the bed, using her hands and moved over to accommodate him. He flopped down flat on his back, his body slightly spread eagle. He settled his head comfortably into one of the pillows and reached his right hand out to encircle her left wrist. She stayed propped over him, studying his eyes. They were the same brilliant blue she remembered from the game; she had thought maybe their intensity was a trick of the sunlight.

Greg released her wrist, sliding his fingers up her arm and briefly caressing her neck before threading them into the tips of her hair. She splayed her right hand over his chest, rubbing lightly back and forth as he toyed with her hair. His hand released her hair and slid around to the back of her neck, urging her to lie her head on his chest.

She shifted, moving her hand to run along his left arm, tracing the muscle and veins as her ear came to rest above his heart. She felt his hand thread into her hair, rubbing along her scalp and sifting through the curly dark strands. He closed his eyes enjoying the weight of her body against his, as he stroked her hair.

"Speaking of sex, I wanted to clarify that you would remember because I'm just _that_good." Greg commented breaking the contentment of the moment.

"Of course I would," She nodded, "but _you_ would remember because I'm better than _that_." She returned smugly, her words slightly muffled against his chest.

He snorted in response, moving his hand from her hair and rubbing circles over her back.

After a few long moments, Lisa whispered, "This is weird."

Greg exhaled a breath through his nose and continued rubbing her back before he replied equally softly, "I know."


	4. Chapter 4

Lisa woke up wrapped in Greg's arms. Her cheek rested on his sternum and her body was sprawled on top of his. She lay for awhile listening to his breathing; her head rising and falling with the tide of his body and the gush of his heart. She shifted her body up his; her head coming to rest in the curve of his neck and her legs wrapping around his waist. Her arms ghosted up his sides and she placed her hands on either side of his head. She braced herself, then pressed her body up, balancing over him and cataloging his face: the pot mark on the side of his nose, the slightly full lips and the lashes that curved out at the ends of his eyelids.

Her hands lifted of their own accord; tracing his eyebrows and cheekbones, trailing down to just below his earlobes. She rubbed at his neck until she felt his body stir beneath her. She remained motionless, hovering and waiting, until his eyes opened fully. His hands lazily traced up her legs coming to rest at her hips as he stared bleary eyed at her figure above him.

"What time is it?" Greg said through a yawn.

"It's almost three." Lisa replied checking the clock on his nightstand.

"We should get up. I should take you home." He offered as his hands moved up her back and came to rest on the nape of her neck where he lightly massaged the muscle, fingering the bones at the top of her spine.

"Hmm. Or maybe you should kiss me." She said arching into his massaging fingers.

"I should, should I?" He asked playfully, his eyes falling to her chest as she arched her body towards him.

"Yeah."

"Maybe I don't want to." He suggested.

"Maybe you do." Lisa commanded softly.

She felt his fingers tense on her neck. They silently challenged the other to initiate. In the end, she could not tell if he tugged her down first or if she released the tension in her elbows to lean down to him, either way, the result was the same.

Their lips met softly, his mouth opening just enough to taste her. Greg covered her lower lip, sucking at its fullness, as his tongue traced along the smooth pink skin inside. Lisa pulled back, her teeth nipping out to catch his lip. She gently tugged away from him lightly releasing his lip, before she shifted her head.

Their noses bumped as she changed the angle of the kiss. Their tongues slipped across each other learning the tastes and feel of their respective mouths. Greg's hands slid into her hair, taking control of the kiss as he changed the angle and pressed her forward. He deepened the kiss, increasing his suction on her tongue.

Lisa's fingers clutched at his neck; the short nails lightly digging into his skin. Her teeth knocked against his as she forced his mouth open wider. She pulled her tongue back and captured his with a deep sucking motion, releasing it and pulling away from his mouth. His tongue followed after hers, his head lifting off the pillow as he chased after her mouth; the tips of their tongues touching lightly before they separated to catch their breath.

Lisa dropped her head to the pillow beside him, hiding her flushed face, as Greg placed light kisses along her cheek, then her jaw, finally biting the pulse point beating along her neck.

"Ow!" Lisa exclaimed rearing back from him.

"Ow? I barely bit you." He defended staring at her like she was crazy.

"Barely, my ass! How do _you_ like it?" Lisa attached her mouth to his neck biting into the muscle hard. She pulled back, her tongue jutting out and licking over the teeth marks, before covering the spot with a soft wet kiss and sitting upright.

"Shit! Damn it, Lisa, that hurt!" He yelled, his hand shooting up to protectively cover the spot as he flinched away from her.

"But, I kissed it and made it better," Her lips pouted, "and anyway, _I barely bit you_."

He shook his head a little baffled by their interaction, "So I guess this means you're into S&M, huh?"

"No. This means you bit me first and I bit you back. It's called evening the score." She argued.

"Please, I barely did anything. Whereas you definitely left a mark." He accused moving his fingertips over the indents in his skin as he spread the dampness on the side of his neck.

"I did not leave a mark, but if you keep whining I will." Lisa huffed.

"I don't think so. I'm not letting you anywhere near my neck again." Greg responded shifting away from her.

"Sorry." Lisa offered patronizingly as she leaned forward to kiss him.

"Sure you are." He said warily, watching her has she barely pecked his lips.

"I am. I'm sorry that I have to listen to you whine about a nip to your sensitive neck." She grumbled.

Greg grabbed her, quickly shifting their positions, and trapping her body under him. "Say it like you mean it." He taunted.

"Oh, Greggers I'm so sorry your necky is hurt." She replied defiantly.

Greg immediately moved his face to the side of her neck attacking her with his mouth. Lisa tried to wiggle away and even shifted her neck to the side in a protective measure but he was too quick. His mouth latched onto her skin with a strong suction.

"Stop it!" Lisa demanded wiggling under him. "Greg! Fuck! I do not want a hickey!" She yelled, her hands pushing at his face as he continued to suck on her neck.

He removed his mouth just enough to taunt her, "Well you should have thought about that before you marked me and then mocked me." His mouth closed back over her skin, sucking and biting to break the blood vessels beneath the smooth surface. Lisa tugged at his hair, pleading with him to stop and finally got him him to relent by tickling his underarms and jumping out of the bed.

"Ugh. You suck!" She spat at him.

"Literally." He returned with a huge smile.

She narrowed her eyes at him and considered jumping onto his stomach in revenge, but thought better of it. Her hand came up to press lightly against the painfully throbbing spot on the side of her neck.

"I'm starving and you owe me food." She said pointedly.

"Jesus, didn't you just get enough of my neck? plus it's not my fault you passed out last night." He reminded her.

"Shut up." She shot back. "Where's your bathroom?" she asked, for the first time becoming aware of her full bladder.

He told her and she walked out of the room. He pushed himself to a sitting position on the bed, planting his feet firmly on the floor. He rubbed his hand through his hair and scrubbed his face. He thought to himself that this whole thing with Lisa was really weird. It was weird in a good way though or at least he thought it was. He smiled to himself thinking about the hickey she was going to have. He was not used to just spending time with girls. The thought sobered him up a bit.

He never brought girls home and rarely spent the night unless he was dating them, which was even a rarer occurrence. He was not sure what to make of the fact that he broke both rules with a girl he met a little over twenty four hours ago. He was working towards an answer when she came back into the room.

Lisa found the bathroom easily, quickly emptying her bladder and washing her hands. She stood staring at her reflection in the mirror above the sink as she examined the golf ball sized mark he had left on her neck. She had a slight smile on her face that disappeared when she realised how weird this whole thing was. She never went home with guys, especially guys she barely knew. Hell, she did not even know his last name. Yet, she had felt comfortable enough to sleep with him and she was the one who initiated their kiss. She shook her head, telling herself to stop analysing and flicked the light switch off before returning to the bedroom.

She walked over to the bed and stopped in front of him, shifting on her feet uncertainly. He reached out a hand and tugged her between his legs. His hands came up to rest on her hips as his thumbs brushed along the exposed skin between the bottom of her shirt and the top of her pants. Lisa placed her hands on his shoulders, and leaned forward resting her chin on the crown of his head.

"What do you want to eat?" Greg asked.

"I'm still a little hungover so something greasy." She replied.

"Mexican? There's a place not too far. They have really great fish tacos." He suggested with a straight face as he shifted his hands down to cup her butt.

"Well, I've always been a fan of a good fish taco. You have to know just how to eat them though or it can get really messy." She replied seriously, sliding her hands over his shoulders and pushing back to look at him.

They held each others gaze - her eyebrow lifted smugly and his face a study in innocence - until he grinned and she succumbed to a fit of giggles.

*  
>His apartment was not far from campus or food shops so instead of taking his car, they decided to walk. He loaned her a blue hoodie since she left hers at the frat and grabbed a ratty grey one for himself. They walked in silence, enjoying their first encounter with fresh air that day and kicking some of the leaves piled along the pathways.<p>

He paid for the food and they sat at a tiny red table scarfing it down pretty quickly, neither realising how hungry they were until their noses were assaulted with the delicious smells of spicy food and grease. By the time they were done eating, the sun had set and Lisa needed to study. He offered to walk her back to her dorm and she accepted. They made their way across campus, fingers entwined and shoulders bumping as the ambled down the paths trying to stretch out their time together.

"This is me." They came to a stop in front of a set of glass doors fronting a stone building. Lisa reached for his free hand, and began loosely swinging their arms as she tilted her head back to look up at his face.

"You gonna invite me up?" He suggested, inclining his head towards the building.

"Nope. I have a lot of stuff to get done for tomorrow." She told him resignedly.

"Nerd." He teased.

"Yeah, yeah." She dismissed, stilling their hands. "Actually, I have a lot of stuff to do this whole week-"

Greg abruptly dropped his hands from hers, "Wait, are you giving me the brush off Lisa?" He asked accusingly.

"No!" She defended, her hand coming up to grip his upper arm, "I just have a lot of work. I'm pre-med and I have a lot of classes. It's just... I definitely am not giving you the brush off."

Her hand on his arm calmed him."Well it sounded like that's where you were heading." He responded mildly.

"No. I just wanted you to know that I'm _not_ doing that if I can't see you. I have a lot of studying and labs and I'm trying to get this internship. There's a lot." She began rubbing his arm and his hands came to rest on her waist, his fingers pressing into the cotton jersey.

"I can help you. I know some people and I don't usually tutor anyone outside of my sections, but I'd make an exception for you." He offered.

"Really?" She was a little surprised, she knew he was a med student because they had talked about it over dinner, but he did not seem very studious.

"Don't sound so surprised. I'm actually very good at it." His voice was quiet and serious.

"Oh. Uh... I didn't mean it like that." She attempted to cover. "I don't really need a lot of help...umm I go to office hours if I do. I'm not a genius, but I am smarter than the average bear." She finished lamely smiling up at him.

"Sorry. I'm just so used to everyone wanting me for my mind and not my hot bod, like you so clearly do. I mean its hard being the irascibly lovable Greg House." He leaned forward with a smile pressing his forehead to hers, kissing the tip of her nose.

"House?" She pulled back from him, intently studying his face.

"Home?" He joked.

"_You're _Greg House?" She shook her head. "This can not be happening. Ugh." She pushed away from him.

"Wait – What? What's going on?" He stood with his arms wide, his hands open acting as a question mark.

"I've heard about you – who hasn't - you are such a sleaze! And a cheater - that's why you're here in the first place. You got kicked out of Hopkins for cheating. I feel so disgusting. I kissed you! I slept in your _bed_. Thank God I didn't sleep with you." She ranted before she turned away from him, reaching in her pocket for her dorm key.

He clutched her arm turning her back around to face him.

"What are you talking about? What's wrong with you?" He asked a little stunned by her outburst.

"You. You are what's wrong with me." She pulled her arm out of his grasp.

"But you knew who I was, I told you my name." He returned confused.

"Not your _real_ name." She accused.

"Greg _is_ my real name." He responded.

"You know what I mean. Everyone knows you as House." She retorted, poking him in the chest with her forefinger.

"Well, you didn't tell me your last name either, _Lisa_." He responded childishly. "What difference does it make? All that shit is just rumors and bullshit." He defended himself.

"_All_ the stories going around campus about you - how you got kicked out of school, how you're an arrogant ass who disrespects students and professors, how you steal cadavers and let's not forget the many, _many_ girls that you've bedded - that's just lies? that's just bullshit?" She asked him pointedly, pursing her lips and lifting her eyebrow challengingly.

"I... it's not _all_ true. What do you want me to say? I cheated. I got caught. It was a stupid mistake. I paid for it. I don't need_ you _to punish me for it. As for students and professors, a lot of them are idiots and I don't have a problem telling them to their face. Girls..Girls like me... I don't use anyone. I'm honest with them and they are honest with me. You didn't seem to have any problems with me earlier today." He replied sharply.

"Bravo. Stunning recitation." Lisa responded mock clapping, "I can see you have answered _this _question before. Now that the show is over, you can go home. No encore tonite." She once again turned to the door getting the key in the lock before he recovered from the vicious tone of her voice.

"I have never answered this question before because I don't defend myself to people." Greg responded evenly, his voice tinged with anger. "Let me ask you something, Lisa: when was I any of the things you are accusing me of? I certainly didn't treat you like an idiot and if I had wanted to fuck you I could have. " He said so quietly that if she hadn't paused, stiffening at his first words, she wouldn't have heard him.

He stopped talking and ran his hand through his hair, as he stared at her back, "You know what? I don't fucking care. I don't have to put up with this shit – like you said women throw themselves at me every damn day. I'll just go catch one." He finished petulantly.

"You do that." She shot over her shoulder at him, turning the key and entering through the doors before quickly making her way to the elevator banks and jabbing the call button.

If she had bothered to look back through the glass doors, she would have seen that Greg House was long gone.


	5. Chapter 5

Lisa rushed across campus towards the Chemistry building hoping to catch the last fifteen minutes of her TA's section. It had been an absolutely horrible week. There was the fiasco with Greg or House or whoever the hell he was; a memory that, annoyingly, was not beginning to fade along with the hickey he had left on her neck.

Despite leaving the party with him on Saturday, she had not heard any rumors connecting herself to him and she thought it was odd because she was sure everyone would know about their weekend together and assume she had slept with him. She was grateful she had not heard anything, but it did make her wonder about all those other rumors.

She had, however, heard the usual stories about him during the week: making students cry, correcting professors and the like. There had been an odd feeling in her stomach each time she heard his name. If she was being honest with herself, she would admit that maybe she overreacted a little on Sunday. She, however, wasn't being honest. At the time, she had been so overcome with hurt and anger that he had been gaming her, she had lashed out at him.

Over the week, though, she had time to think about what he said and concluded he was right. He had not treated her like an idiot or even made her feel like he was just trying to get into her pants. It was hard to believe, given his track record, that he could have been serious and she felt like a fool for falling for his games because that is all it probably was, right?

This whole thing was so confusing. She had been so distracted she lost the notes for her English elective and spent three hours retracing her steps before finding them at a coffee shop where she had briefly stopped for a latte. To top it off, she started feeling sick Tuesday night and had a full blown cold by the next day. She felt like complete shit; her head was aching, she'd barely had anything to eat and she was running a slight fever. She had also gotten back a midterm in her Organic Chemistry class and though she was certainly at the top of the curve, she had missed a couple of questions.

Now, it was Thursday and she was on her way to go over the exam with her TA. She would rather be on her way to bed. Instead she was making her way down a quiet hallway in a science building hoping no one else had come in today because she wanted to review her test and go home.

Fortunately for her, there was only one person in the room. Unfortunately, it wasn't her regular TA.

She stopped in the doorway, a bit stunned to see him again. Their paths had never crossed on campus before so she had mistakenly hoped that it would continue like that. He was lounged back in a chair which was precariously perched on its two hind legs. His head rested on the whiteboard and his feet were propped up on the desk in front of him. He was playing catch with a lime green tennis ball and looked to be deep in thought.

For a brief second she thought about leaving, but she knew the knowledge in this course was cumulative so if she wasn't getting something now, she was going to have trouble down the road. Since sections were only once a week, she did not have any choice.

She mentally took a deep breath, pushed down the annoying bubble of excitement that welled up at the sight of him, and walked into the room as briskly as she could muster. She came to a halt at the desk and slipped off her backpack. She unzipped it and took out her test booklet, a highlighter, a pen and the textbook. She coughed briefly, covering her mouth, before finally speaking, "I want to go over my midterm."

Greg heard the footsteps of someone coming down the hall and hoped that this was not their intended destination. He heard someone stop at the door, but did not turn to acknowledge them. He glanced at the clock on the wall opposite before resuming his game of catch. He silently groaned, only ten minutes and he would have been free.

This was not his normal section, it was not even the course he TAed for, but he had been desperate to switch with someone because he wanted to go to Detroit and catch John Henry Giles next Friday, when he normally taught his section. He asked around and Jason, the TA for this course, was the only person willing to switch with him.

Damn it, he thought, he should have just left. There had been a couple of students who came in earlier to go over their midterms, but not too many and he had been sitting here alone for the better part of the past half hour. His head jerked up when the person spoke and he nearly dropped the ball which had just fallen into his hand, bobbling it for a few seconds before regaining control.

He had not expected to see her again. He certainly did not like the jolt of excitement that she caused to rush through him. He pushed it down, staring at her briefly, before clearing his throat and reaching out with his left hand to take her test. He moved his feet off of the desk, shifted to the front of his seat and rolled the tennis ball between the desktop and the palm of his hand as he perused her answers.

She sat in the chair on the other side of the desk and tapped her pen methodically against her textbook .

He went through her test, occasionally lifting his eyes to glance at her. He could not believe his luck. He had been here for two years and managed to never cross paths with her, now when he did not want to see her here she was. He felt stupid and embarrassed for defending himself on Sunday and it definitely still burned that she had thought he had been playing her. Certainly, she had a reason to think that if she believed all the rumors out there about him and women, but in truth he did not get around even half as much as people thought.

The fact that he had gone outside his comfort zone with her and had assumed they were on the same page - she had even admitted she thought it was weird too - only to have it blow up in his face just confirmed why he stayed away from relationships. He mentally cursed himself for using that word. It had been a frustrating week thinking about her and he had had enough.

He forcefully closed the booklet, tapping his fingers across it before leaning back in his seat and lifting the tennis ball to roll it between his hands. "You look like shit," he commented, taking in her pallor and the redness around her nose.

Lisa glared at him briefly; ignoring his comment, she picked up the test and turned to question four, "I'm not sure why this is-"

He cut her off, "Mathematical errors," he stated dismissively. "It's clear you know the material. Your math was bad in one of the questions you missed, you transposed the numbers on the other and you need to pay attention to your electron count. Simple mistakes, idiotic really. Next time go back over your calculations and check your numbers." He finished with a shrug.

She bristled at his comment that her mistakes were idiotic, but was a little relieved that he thought she knew the material. "Can you please point out where the mistakes are." She asked stiffly, before reaching into her bag and pulling out a tissue to rub her nose.

He sat down his ball and picked up her textbook. He thumbed through it, scanning the pages before stopping, quickly perusing a page, and turning the book back to her. "Read this page," he said pointing at the right side of the open book.

He then picked up her test, stood up and turned towards the whiteboard. He grabbed a black marker, uncapped it and copied the problems she had missed onto board. He half turned, tossed the test in her general direction and spent about five minutes working through the first equation.

Despite her simmering anger with him, it was thrilling to watch him work. There was an intensity about the way he went through the steps; he was focused on the work, but he made it look effortless. She remembered spending over half an hour doing each of those problems. As he started the second equation, she turned her attention to the page he asked her to read.

After another five minutes, he tossed the black marker back onto the the silver tray along the bottom of the whiteboard and picked up a red one. He underlined two areas in the first answer,"Here, you switched the order of the 2 and the 5." He said tersely, using his pointer finger to touch each number.

At his voice, Lisa stopped reading picked up the test and followed along. She felt stupid for making such simple mistakes. She could see what the problem was with the second question before he even underlined the area of her mistake and explained that she had carried wrong from the tens place.

He leaned back against the white board and pointed at the textbook with the marker, "As far as that, you need to remember that with atoms and electrons 'eight is enough'. It's a common mistake that will cause you a lot of problems in the future if you're not careful." He said evenly.

He capped the marker and set it back on the ledge. Glancing at the clock, he confirmed he was done and reached down to grab his backpack. He stuffed his ball into a side pocket of the pack and placed it on the desk. He caught up his hooded sweatshirt, pulled it on and ran his hand up the back of his head. "Anything else?" He asked in a tone that did not invite further questions.

Lisa looked up at him from across the desk, watching as he prepared to go. It was the first time she really looked at him since stepping into the classroom. He was wearing jeans and had on a red Detroit Blues Festival t-shirt, which he covered when he pulled on a black hooded sweatshirt. His hair was disheveled and he seemed lankier than she remembered him on Sunday. The overall effect was scruffy, but clean and she could not help, but remember what he smelled like and how it felt to touch him and taste him.

She had been staring at him for longer than is acceptable when he broke her reverie by asking if she needed anything else. She recovered nodding her head and quickly hopped up to put her stuff back in her bag and leave. The lack of sleep and food coupled with her cold caught up with her and she nearly fainted. Her vision cut out, a hot wash of heat blasted through her body in tingly waves and she was barely able to brace her hands on the desk as she slumped forward.

Greg was turning to leave, when he saw her body slump forward. He reacted immediately; dropping his bag, he shot around the desk to grab her. He guided her body back into the seat."Take a breath," he ordered settling her in the chair and tilting her head back, to check her pupils.

"What just happened? Tell me exactly what you felt." He asked calmly. Placing one hand on her pulse and the other on her forehead, he noted her elevated temperature and clammy skin.

Lisa brushed away his hands,"It's nothing." She dismissed closing her eyes and taking in several deep breaths."I was just dizzy."

He stepped back, cataloged her appearance once again and leaned over to retrieve his backpack. "Is there a chance that you might be pregnant?" He asked impersonally, though his stomach twisted at the possibility some other guy hand knocked her up.

"What? No!" Lisa expelled shocked, "Not that it'd be any of your business if I was."

"You could have dropped to the floor and knocked yourself out if I wasn't here. And since this would have been the _second _time that you would have been unconscious around me, I think it's fair to say it is my business." He replied angrily, shoving a candy bar towards her. "Eat this. You probably just have low blood sugar," he concluded.

Lisa made no move to take the chocolate.

He rolled his eyes at her, unwrapped the chocolate bar and offered it to her again. When she still did not respond, he stepped closer and pressed the candy against her lower lip nudging it into her mouth. She reflexively took a bite, her eyes lifting to his. The sweet flavor flooded her mouth as it melted on her tongue, and she greedily took another bite swallowing it down as their gazes remained locked. Greg's eyes fell to her lips and throat as he fed her more chocolate. Feeling a tightness in his groin, he cleared his throat and stepped back extending his hand for her to take the chocolate bar.

Lisa's eyes dropped to his crotch when he stepped back causing her cheeks to flush a pale pink. She lifted her hand and took the candy, lowering her head and taking several more bites before she felt well enough to attempt standing again. Greg gathered his things hovering and watching as she put her stuff back in her bag and zipped it up.

"You going to be okay getting back to your dorm?" Greg asked in such a way that they both knew he was offering to walk her.

Lisa shouldered her bag, hesitating before responding, "I feel fine... but if it's on your way, I won't stop you from walking with me."

She motioned toward the door with her hand indicating they should leave. He let her lead the way out into the corridor, exiting after her and falling into step beside her. They silently made their way out of the building, their footsteps echoing along the empty halls. There were a few people in the other classrooms, but no one paid them any notice.

There was a bit of a breeze cutting across the quad and it wafted Lisa's hair about her face. Greg watched out of his peripheral, remembering what it had been like to run his hands through that hair, as she reached up, gathered the curly mass and used a hairband to tame it into a messy ponytail. They made their way across campus quietly stealing glances at each other and avoiding both verbal and physical contact.

It took about fifteen minutes to arrive at her dorm; the tension between them becoming palpable as they once again found themselves in front of the glass entrance doors of her dorm.

Lisa belatedly thanked him for the candy bar as she dug her keys out of her pocket.

Greg nodded, "You should drink some juice and eat something as soon as you can. You might also want to take a night off from studying and get some sleep."

Lisa rolled her eyes, jingling her keys in her hand. "Thank you Doctor House, I'll take that under advisement."

He smirked at her, tipping his head in her direction before taking a step back and pointing his thumb over his shoulder, "I gotta get home. I umm... I guess I'll see you around?" He questioned tilting his head to the side and squinting his eyes at her thoughtfully.

"Not if I see you first." She responded a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "Good night, House."

He rolled his eyes at her, lifting his hand to his forehead he gave her a two fingered salute before he turned and headed in the direction of his apartment. A few yards down the path, he looked back over his shoulder and was surprised to find Lisa staring after him. He smiled and she mirrored him before turning and entering her building. He continued watching her for a few moments through the glass doors, before finally heading home.


	6. Chapter 6

Greg was standing in front of The Union, a blue duffel bag slung over one shoulder as he half listened to the blonde yammering away in front of him. She was one of the other TAs in the class he was assigned to this semester. Despite his abrasiveness and clear non interest in having anything to do with her romantically or otherwise, she persisted in cornering him and engaging in ridiculous one sided conversations.

He checked his watch and could not believe he had put up with this for over five minutes. He was sweaty from his run and though he was still a bit hot the fall air was begining to chill him. He had planned to stop here briefly, grab dinner, get some snacks for the drive to Detroit and then head home and shower. He was just about to cut her off when he spotted a familiar brunette headed in their direction.

Lisa was on her way to The Union to grab some food to take back to her dorm. She had tentatively made plans with her roommate to catch a movie tonight, but those fell threw when Liz accepted a date with a guy from her Italian class. Since she no longer had plans and was caught up with her studies she decided to have an early night and catch up on some sleep.

She was almost to the entrance when she spotted House engaged in conversation with a petite blonde. Her stomach tensed up a bit at the sight of him with another girl, but she brushed it off. It was not as though she had any claim to him. As she got closer, though, it became obvious that this was not some girl he was interested in; he was not even looking at her and his entire posture exuded absolute disinterest.

She was close enough that she made a face at him as she walked by, unable to help the smirk that came to her face at the fact that he was clearly stuck in an uncomfortable position.

Greg was not amused by Lisa's obvious enjoyment of his discomfort. He decided he would give her a taste of her own medicine and hopefully get this chick off his back. He watched as she walked by, her head tilted and laughter gleaming in her eyes, and just at the moment when she was almost past them, he took several quick steps in her direction and grabbed her wrist, tugging her back around, "Lisa! What are you doing here? I thought we agreed I'd pick something up and meet you at your dorm?" He questioned, his voice infused with surprised confusion and a little bit of lust.

Lisa stumbled a bit when his hand clasped around her wrist, spinning her around and pulling her almost flush with him. He smelled like sweat and heat and her breathe caught in her throat before she gained her composure, "Oh, I thought we had decided to meet here." She responded with equal confusion, her eyes laughing at him as her hand lifted of its own accord brushing back the damp curls that clung to his forehead.

He was a little shocked that she played along, ruining his attempt to embarrass her, but he certainly did not mind her touching him. He gazed at her a half grin on his face as she touched his hair. He let go of her wrist and moved his hand to her waist. He was about to make a leering comment when he was cut off by the girl standing beside him.

"Hello, I'm Alison," the blonde said, running a critical glance over Lisa and extending her hand.

Lisa did not miss the assessing look and ran one of her own over the girl, before pinning her with a look that told the other girl she found her lacking, "Lisa," she responded, shifting a little closer to Greg and clasping the other girl's hand briefly.

Alison narrowed her eyes briefly, "So Lisa, how do you know House? You're obviously too young to be in Med School so you must be one of the undergrad kids he tutors." She finished with a patronizing smile.

Lisa laughed lightly at the intended snub, turning towards Greg and smiling, "I don't know, _Greg _how do I know you? It seemed like one day we were at each others throats and the next we're in a relationship." She teased, challenging him to contradict her.

"Relationship?" Alison sputtered out, "And why are you calling him Greg? House are you really dating this girl?" She finished pointing an accusing finger at Lisa.

Greg could feel his face flush as soon as Lisa said the word relationship. He cleared his throat and blinked away what he was sure was a deer in the headlights expression, tearing his gaze from Lisa and turning towards Alison, "Why would she lie?" He answered noncommittally.

Alison's face fell as she looked between the two of them, "I...I have to get going. Umm... I guess I'll see you in class." She spoke in a rush giving House a brief smile and quickly heading off in the opposite direction.

Greg felt a little bad for her; he had certainly never given her any reason to think anything would happen between the two of him, but he had never seen her look so obviously hurt and though he had been dismissive with her in the past he never purposely sought to hurt her feelings. He shrugged it off, turning his attention back to Lisa and staring down at her with a sickeningly sweet grin, "So darling dear honeybunch snookums, what are our plans for the evening?" He teased.

A brief twinge of guilt ran through Lisa at the pained expression on the other girl's face, but she brushed it off, turning to House and rolling her eyes at his litany of endearments, "_We_ don't have any plans tonite. _I_, however, am getting some food and going home to bed. Alone." She finished pulling away from him.

"Aww man, the honeymoon's over already?" Greg mocked as he moved his hand to her back guiding her towards the entrance to the building and falling in step beside her, "Sounds like another exciting evening in Lisaland."

"Every evening is an exciting one, if you can spend it in Lisaland," she retorted shooting him a suggestive glance. "Since I'm so boring, what's on the agenda in the Hamlet of House?"

He lifted his eyebrows at the possibility of spending the night in Lisaland, steering her towards the market on the ground floor, he leaned towards her whispering in his best speakeasy voice "Jazz baby. I'm driving to the Motor City to see John Henry Giles."

They entered the store and Lisa picked up a hand basket, winding her way through the mass of students towards the cooler of ready made sandwiches, drinks, salads and soups. She looked over her shoulder at House, "John Henry Giles! My dad loves him, listens to him every Sunday while he works through the NYTimes crossword. He'd probably give his left hand to see him in live."

Greg tossed a pastrami on rye into her basket , along with a couple of cans of pop. He really wanted a rueben, but the line at the deli counter was too long and they always put pickles in the ready made ones. Lisa placed some sort of healthy looking sandwich into the basket and he watched her as she began to look through the various tubs of soup, her hand lifting to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear as she continued talking about her father.

"Do you want to come?" He asked before he could stop himself.

Lisa's head shot up and she stared at him him, her hand pausing in its path to place a container of butternut squash soup into the basket. "Umm... I..." She stumbled over the words, closing her mouth and biting her lip before finally falling silent.

Greg cleared his throat, twisting his lips to the side before speaking, "I need to grab some chips. I'll meet you in line." He said glossing over her rejection. Well that was stupid he thought to himself as he grabbed up a bag of nacho cheese chips and some cherry licorice. It was probably a good idea that she had not agreed to join him he mused as he made his way out of the aisle. As he passed a stand of cupcakes he grabbed up a package and made his way to the registers to find Lisa. He came up beside her, dumping his stuff into the bag, noting she had added a bottle of iced tea and yogurt and fruit parfait.

Lisa was deep in thought and did not notice Greg approach. She wondered what made him ask her to come. He obviously had not planned to; she could tell that it was a spur of the moment invitation. Part of her wanted to say yes; he was good looking and she was definitely attracted to him, but she did not like dates. There was too much pressure on dates on both parties to be more than they were. She also was not sure that she should continue spending time with him because even if he had not slept with all the girls he was rumored to have been with, he definitely had not been with any of them for any extended period of time. Not that she was looking for a relationship, but she definitely was not looking for a short term hook up or a one night stand. His putting more items into her basket brought her out of her reverie.

"You're a vegetarian." He observed, pointing at the basket between them.

She absently nodded in confirmation, turning towards him and announcing firmly, "I'll go if it's not a date. I don't do dates."

"What?" Greg asked, giving her a confused look.

She rolled her eyes at him, stepped up to the register and placed their basket of food on the counter. She checked her watch, it was a little past four and it was not a long drive, "You can pick me up in two hours. Where's the cash for all this crap?" She asked, waving at his stuff and extending her hand towards him.

He was still a bit confused by her sudden acceptance, but his brain was working enough that he reached into duffel, dug out some bills and handed them over. "Okay," he agreed, "Can you meet in the parking lot behind your building?"

"Sure." She responded, handing him his bag and taking her own.

They made their way outside and took a shortcut across the quad. Their conversation centered on the jazz club they were going to and a suggestion regarding the amount of boobage her outfit should display led to a brief leaf skirmish. They were continuing on the path towards her dorm, when Greg stopped them at another path stating it was a quicker route back to his place. They exchanged numbers so he could call her when he left his apartment. He lobbed a parting shot about his hopes for her attire, to which she simply gave a smug grin not deigning to respond and turned on her heels to head down the path to her dorm.


	7. Chapter 7

Lisa leaned closer to the mirror, squinted her right eye and applied the finishing touches to her makeup. This was not a date, but that did not mean she did not want to look good. She recapped the eyeliner, setting in on her bureau and glanced at the clock; Greg called a little over ten minutes ago so she should probably head down now.

She gave herself a final once over in the mirror. She had on a pair of dark red shiny spandex tights, an oversized long sleeve black rayon top that hung off the shoulder, a black belt loosely cinched around her waist and three inch black ankle boots with buckles crisscrossing the top. She left her hair down and had put on red plastic hoop earrings. She had also slipped several black and red plastic bangles on her left wrist.

Stepping back from the mirror, she decided that her outfit passed inspection. Grabbing a small clutch, her keys and a jacket, she turned off the light and headed down to the parking lot.

The sun was close to setting as Greg sat on the hood of his car waiting for Lisa to come down. His outfit was a little less scruffy than his usual attire because the jazz club required a jacket, but not by that much. He had on a pair of black converse, black jeans, a black t-shirt with a red rolling stones logo, and a black blazer.

He was not waiting long, when he saw Lisa exit the backdoor of the building and head down the path towards the parking lot. As she got closer, he ran his eyes over her outfit chuckling to himself when he realised they were wearing the same colors. Even worse, they matched his car: a black 1968 Ford Mustang GT 390 Fastback with red accents and a burgundy interior.

Once in range, Lisa let out a low whistle as she came to a stop right in front of him. She rested her left hand on the hood of his car and looked up at him, "If I had known Steve McQueen was picking me up, I'd have come down sooner." She teased.

He lifted his eyebrows impressed at her car knowledge and gave her outfit another once over, his eyes lingering at the amount of skin exposed at the shoulder. "You look great." He said appreciatively.

Lisa smiled in acknowledgement and reached up to tug at his lapel, "What's with the blazer?" She enquired.

Greg looked down, sighing, "Dress code. Can't get in without one." He admitted grudgingly as he hopped off the hood. He pulled his keys out of his pocket and jingled them in her direction, "You ready to roll?" He asked.

Lisa grabbed the keys from him and walked around to the driver's side door. Greg stood watching her, a stunned expression on his face, before he broke out into a grin and shook his head. I knew she was going to be fun he thought to himself, as he made his way around the car, opened the door and slid into the passenger seat.

"I wish my car was a manual so I could ask you if you knew how to drive a stick or if I needed to give you some hands on lessons." He said suavely.

"Ugh. That's bad even for you." She scoffed. "Jesus, you've got long legs," she grumbled, pulled the seat forward and buckling herself up. She reached up to adjust the rearview mirror and did a cursory adjustment of the side view mirrors, but they would have to wait until she was in traffic to be fully adjusted.

"Complaints, complaints," he chided. "You should be happy I'm entrusting you with my baby." He informed her running his hand along the dashboard, before adjusting his own seat and buckling himself up. "So anything I should know about your driving history?" He asked curiously. "You have a license, right?"

She glanced over, saw he was buckled up and turned the key in the ignition, revving it once and giving him a mischievous smile. "Probably should have asked that _before _you handed over your keys." She put the car in reverse, looked over her shoulder, quickly backed out of the spot and shot across the parking lot.

"Oh, ho ho! It would seem that we have ourselves a speed demon." He accused pointing a finger at her.

She signaled a left turn, checking both ways before turning out into the proper lane. "You could say that _or_ you could say that I sort of view the posted speed limit as a suggestion." She shrugged.

"_Right_. If you get a ticket, you're paying it and if you wreck my car, I'll kill you." He responded seriously, reaching behind the driver's seat to grab the bag of snacks he had purchased.

"Fair enough. So where to?" She looked at him briefly, before focusing her attention back on the road. There were a lot of students and other pedestrians traversing the campus and she was eager to get out to more open roads. She listened as he gave her the directions. "Okay, that's easy."

He ripped open the chips, stuffing a handful into his mouth and chewing while he opened the can of pop. He dusted his fingers on the knee of his pants and took a long guzzle of the carbonated beverage, belching loudly as he reached over to turn on the radio.

She rolled her eyes heavenward when he belched, "Sexy," she commented and changed lanes to merge onto the highway.

Once on the highway, Lisa maintained speed with the flow of traffic while she properly adjusted her side view mirrors. When she felt like they were set correctly, she looked over at Greg and gave him a wink, "Go speed racer, go!" She sung lightly as she increased the speed and raced them down the highway. 


	8. Chapter 8

They pulled into Baker's Keyboard Lounge about a quarter after seven. The parking lot was almost at full capacity so they were glad they had gotten there early. Lisa put the car in park, turned off the ignition and leaned back in the driver's seat.

She ran her fingertips over the steering wheel, "I love your car." She sighed, turning to Greg with a huge smile on her face.

"I do too." He replied, transfixed by her smile. There was a hint of reverence in his voice that was not just for the car. Shaking away his attraction, he reached for the door, "Let's go inside and get a table before it becomes standing room only." He urged.

They spent a couple of minutes at the ticket booth as Greg engaged in conversation with the elderly woman behind the window. Lisa took the time to take in the venue. It was a bit smoky and dark, but there was really great energy and feeling of history in the place. She slowly walked along the foyer where signed black and white and color photos of musicians and singers lined the walls. The main room was fairly good sized, but not so large that it was not intimate. A long wooden bar took up the space at the back of the room; she could see that there were piano keys painted on the top and made a mental note to take a closer look. Groups of tables, which were almost all filled, and a small dance floor were located in front of the stage and there were booths flanking the side walls. The lighting was subdued, with spotlights on the stage and candles flickering away at the tables and booths.

The hostess greeted Greg with a smile and showed them to one of the curved booths near the stage. She handed them menus and told them that a waiter would be right over. As she looked over the menu, Lisa thought to herself that given the way people seemed to know him, Greg must come here a lot. A waiter came over a few minutes later; he was an older man and gave her quick glance, before turning his attention to Greg.

"I figured you would be in tonite." He said pointing his pen at Greg. He tilted his head towards Lisa, "What's a looker like her doing with you?" He joked.

Lisa laughed and listened as they continued their exchange; the menu was not really vegetarian friendly so she settled on fries and a ginger ale. Greg ordered a scotch on the rocks and the beef short ribs dinner with potato salad, mac and cheese and two corn muffins. The waiter took their menus, said their food would be out soon and leaned conspiratorially toward Lisa telling her to watch herself with Greg because he was a real heart breaker.

At his parting comment, a wave of apprehension flooded through Lisa. She toyed with the paper napkin in front of her and put an elbow on the table. She rested her chin on her hand and gave Greg a curious look, "How many girls have you brought here?" She asked lightly.

Greg rolled his eyes at the waiter's comment, but quickly noticed Lisa had not taken it as good naturedly as it was intended. Given her closed off demeanor he was not surprised by her question. Shit like this was exactly why he stayed out of relationships, "Why does it matter? I'm here with you right now." He responded in a flat voice.

Lisa pursed her lips, "It matters because I want to know." She said frustrated with his deflection.

"According to you, this isn't a date, and we are definitely not in a relationship so don't act like it's one. Some guy you don't even know makes a stupid comment about me and you're suddenly asking stupid questions. If you cared how many girls I may or may not have brought here, then you shouldn't have come." He said his voice growing annoyed as he lifted his thumb and rubbed it across his forehead.

Lisa lowered her arm and leaned forward, replying tightly, "Fine. If you want to deflect go ahead, but you don't have to be a jerk about it."

Greg glared at her and she could see his jaw moving as he clenched his teeth together. He took in a deep breath, letting it out through his nose and looking away from her. He finally turned back, speaking in a controlled tone, "None. You are the only person, male or female, that I have ever come here with. Can we please just drop this and stick to the 'this is not a date' script?"

At that moment, a server arrived with their food and drinks. They let him situate everything on the table and Lisa waited until he left before she spoke.

"I wasn't interrogating you. I guess I'm... I'm still touchy about the whole you and other girls thing." She admitted. "I was curious – there's no reason I should be. There's no reason I shouldn't." She flicked her hand dismissively, "I'm not. I..." She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm sorry I asked. Can we just forget it and let's just have a good time?" She asked hopefully.

Greg leaned back in the booth and braced his hands on the edge of the table watching Lisa as she talked. He studied her for several minutes, releasing his grip on the table and then looked around the club: the other people sitting at the tables, the musicians starting to set up, waiters and servers rushing around with drinks and food. This place was a sanctuary, but now that he had brought her here, when he came back he was going to remember it. Since he would remember whether he wanted to or not he figured he might as well make sure it was a good memory.

He looked back at her and reached over grabbing a couple of her fries, and pointing at her with them, "I thought we agreed you would be wearing something a little more...revealing." He commented before stuffing the fries into his mouth.

Lisa smiled at him, relieved the evening wasn't going to spiral out of control. She picked up a fry and looked down at her cleavage - her brow wrinkled in confusion, "You can't see anything? I think the view is great - creamy, perky and ridiculously touchable." She replied smugly lifting her head and biting off the end of the fry.

"Nice," Greg responded grabbing up his fork and tucking into his meal. He offered her a taste of his sides and corn muffin, the latter of which she confiscated for herself. Halfway through his meal, he called their waiter over and ordered another round of drinks, a beer for himself and another ginger ale for Lisa, along with peach cobbler a la mode.

They half flirted their way through the next half hour. Their conversation steered clear of any possibly touchy subjects. Greg relayed a couple of stories about medical cases that he found fascinating and idiot patients who had the misfortune of having him as their attending. Lisa talked about how different Michigan was from Jersey and things got a little heated when they somehow wound up on the topic of the New York Yankees; Greg thought he was a diehard fan, but the way Lisa raged against them applauding the Dodgers who had handed the Yankees a loss in the World Series he was glad he was a BoSox fan.

A server came and cleared their table and they ordered a third round of drinks. There was a content lull in the conversation when the M.C. took the mike to introduce John Henry Giles.

The first song was an upbeat Jazz number that started out with just cymbal and piano; Giles' trumpet came in softly and slowly built to a crescendo, the brassy sound filling the room. The entire audience swayed in their seats or tapped their hands or feet as they kept time with the music.

Lisa looked over at Greg and was instantly entranced; the light from the candle lit up the right side of his face and his long fingers gracefully marked the beat along the back of the booth. She placed her elbow on the table and rested her cheek against it as she studied his face in awe of the way he was transfixed by the music. It occurred to her, that there was so much more to him than he let the world see; in a moment of epiphany she understood that by letting her share this with him he was letting her in. With the realisation came an intense feeling of light heartedness which was tempered by her feeling that in some ways it would be a burden; that she would be hurt if she let this thing mean too much to her.

Greg was lost in the music. There was something about the live experience that recordings just could not capture. His fingers followed along with the piano as his eyes took in the way trumpet glowed brilliantly under the spotlights. He watched the fluid movement of John Henry's fingers as he depressed the keys and the way his brown cheeks puffed out as he pushed the notes through his instrument. The energy and vibration of the music flowed through his body and when the song ended his hands came together clapping against one another in an enthusiastic show of his appreciation.

He turned to Lisa and smiled, unguarded and glad that she was there to share this moment with him.

The set continued and after several songs, the dance floor filled up a bit. After much prodding and tugging, Greg let Lisa drag him onto it. She wrapped her hands loosely around his waist and his arms rested on her shoulders. They did not fit together perfectly because even with her heels, he was still too tall for her, but they made it work. They maintained a small distance between each other and swayed in perfect time to the music.

When the song ended, John Henry announced a short intermission and they applauded along with the rest of the crowd. Lisa clasped her fingers around Greg's hand and led him over to the bar to get a closer look at the piano design that adorned its full length. She declined another drink; he got the bartender's attention and ordered a scotch. As they waited he took her fingers and placed them over the painted keys, humming notes as he helped her play some unknown tune.

The bartender returned, placing Greg's drink on the counter. "You play," Lisa commented reaching for his scotch and taking a sip as he paid.

"Yeah, since I was a kid. My mom taught me." He informed her removing the glass from her hand and nudging her in the direction of their booth.

"I wish I played an instrument," she lamented. "Do you just play piano?" Lisa asked thoughtfully as she slid into the booth, giving him a curious look as he slid in beside her instead of sitting on the other side where he had been all evening.

He nodded his head, "I play the guitar too. I actually have an acoustic and an electric at my house as well as a piano, but we never left the bedroom so you probably didn't notice." He remarked grinning at her as he took another drink.

"You have a piano in your apartment? Seriously?" She asked astonished to have missed it. She thought back on the day they spent there. She had only been in his bedroom and the bathroom and now that she was trying to remember, she realised she could not describe his kitchen or living room if her life had depended on it.

"Yep. The piano is an upright; it's in the living room. My acoustic was probably in the window seat in the living room as well. I don't usually pull out the electric, though, since I've had the cops called to my place a few too many times over complaints about the noise." He finished slightly chagrined.

Greg looked down at his watch noting the time. "The second set is usually shorter than the first so we'll be out of here around eleven." He informed her.

"O-kay." Lisa responded giving him a funny look. She wondered why he felt the need to tell her that. Was he trying to give her the brush off for the night? Not that she intended to spend the rest of the evening with him, but she was having fun and she thought he was too, so it was odd that he seemed to be setting a curfew.

Greg lifted an eyebrow and tilted his head questioningly, "Why'd you say it like that?"

"I guess I thought it was weird." She answered honestly, shrugging her shoulders. "I didn't think I gave the impression I cared what time I got home."

"You didn't," He assured her. "I was just... I don't know; I looked at my watch, I saw the time, I extrapolated from there and I figured I'd share." He waved his hand as if to punctuate the point and then reached for his drink, finishing it off.

"Well, Greg-ry Godmother, thank you for the update, but I've stayed out past midnight before and I assure you I won't turn into a pumpkin." She teased playfully.

His sarcastic laugh was drowned out by the M.C. taking the mike again.

*

The second set was shorter as Greg predicted, but John Henry came back out for one encore in which he covered Miles Davis' _So What_. They joined in the standing ovation, Greg even using his finger to blow a piercing whistle. After they both made pit stops at the restroom, they headed to the car.

Lisa had never returned his keys, so she let herself into the driver's side and leaned over to unlock the passenger door. Greg was standing hunched over with his head resting on the top of the car and looking through the window as he waited on her to unlock his door.

When she leaned over, he had a perfect view down her shirt; though he was sure she would look far more amazing than the glow of the parking lot lights promised, he felt himself stir at the brief glimpse of her cleavage. He straightened up and opened the door. Shedding his blazer, he tossed it into the back before he slid into the seat and buckled himself up.

Greg reached down into the paper bag at his feet, pulled out the cherry licorice and tore open the plastic. When the fruity smell filled the car Lisa looked over briefly. Spying the licorice she extended her right arm and shook her hand in a gimme motion until he placed one of the red sticks in her palm.

He reached out and flicked on the radio keeping the volume low and they headed back to Ann Arbor both feeling at ease and enjoying the ride. They had just exited off the highway and were headed towards her dorm, when Greg broke the silence speaking in his best academic voice, "Upon further inspection, I've come to the conclusion that you were right."

Lisa looked at him, refocusing her attention on the road as she made a right turn and asked curiously," About what?"

"Your earlier assessment of the view being 'creamy, perky and ridiculously touchable'," he recited. "Despite recent visual evidence, I would love to make a hands-on evaluation in better lighting, just to confirm." He responded with a straight face, his tone unwaveringly serious.

She laughed at him, her voice taking on a flirtatious tone as she responded, "I'm sure that can be arranged... but not tonite. I have a chem lab to do and tomorrow morning is the only time my lab partner is free. Sorry." She said regretfully, reaching over and patting his knee.

Greg choked a little on his licorice when she said it could be arranged. He coughed and the managed to swallow and regain his composure by the time she finished. "Well you'll be sure to let me know when you want to make these arrangements." He commanded, shifting in his seat and half turning towards her.

"Definitely." She responded without hesitation as she pulled into the parking lot behind her dorm. She navigated to a spot close to the door and parked. She shut off the engine and leaned back in her set, turning her head to the right to look at Greg. She gave him a small smile, but did not say anything.

They sat silently watching each other for several minutes, before Greg lifted his left hand and brushed his fingers across her cheek. He splayed his hand along the left side of her face, his thumb rubbing at the corner of her mouth as his fingers cupped the back of her neck. He nudged her lower lip down, rubbing the pad of his thumb along the tender flesh and pulled her towards him.

Lisa did not resist. She pulled his thumb into her mouth biting it softly as the distance between them closed. He removed his finger and covered her mouth with his. As soon as she made contact with his lips, she parted her own and slipped her tongue into his open mouth. She wrapped her hands around his head, sliding her fingers into his hair and running them over his scalp. She pressed his head to his and let him deepen the kiss.

Greg's left hand tightened on her neck and his right pressed against her stomach, sliding along the rayon and coming up to cup her breast. Lisa pulled back slightly and looked at him with a smutty grin. Greg groaned when she broke contact, opening his eyes to stare at her; a flush heated his body at the promise the curve of her mouth held. He used the hand that still gripped her neck to pull her back to him and initiated a wet, probing kiss.

They broke apart briefly to catch their breath, ending the kiss. Lisa recovered first, her mouth claiming Greg's again as her hands slid up his chest. She gripped his t-shirt and abruptly tugged him across the console. Greg sucked at her tongue, savoring the taste as he let her pull him to the driver's side. In an effort to keep his balance and prevent himself from slamming into Lisa, he clumsily reached out his right hand only to gain purchase on the car horn.

The sudden blast surprised them both and Lisa fell back onto the car door as Greg startled up in surprise, knocking his head against the roof.

"Shit!" He yelped, his right hand shooting up to cover the afflicted spot.

Lisa's left had came up to cover her mouth, and she just managed to keep her laughter to her herself. Greg rubbed at his head for a few seconds before looking around and realizing they were making out in his car. He gazed at Lisa, lying under him disheveled, her lips swollen and her shirt ridding up her stomach. He took a steadying breath and moved his knee from between her legs and shifted back over to the passenger side.

Lisa sat up and adjusted her clothes. She cleared her throat and reached for his left hand, rubbing her thumb over his knuckles she spoke in a slightly husky voice, "I had fun tonite. I'm not ready to have _more_ fun just yet; especially not in the front seat of your car in the middle of a well lit parking lot."

Greg nodded his head slightly, turning his hand in hers and lightly tracing her palm, "Same." He responded sincerely. "Any time you want to non-date, give me a call." He finished playfully.

Lisa rolled her eyes," I _don't_ date," she declared, "But if I'm free to not date you next week, I'll let you know." She closed her hand around his briefly squeezing it, before letting his hand go. She gathered her clutch and jacket and leaned over to give Greg a final kiss, briefly running her tongue over his before pulling back and licking her lips.

She let herself out of the car and stood next to it as she watched Greg climb over the console and into the driver's seat. He reached down and adjusted the seat. Once settled he looked up at her and offered to walk her to the door.

She declined and he informed her that he would wait until she was safely inside before he left. Greg tugged her down for another brief kiss and mumbled goodnight against her lips. Standing back up, Lisa whispered goodnight to him and stepped back to close the driver's side door. She gave a small wave, slipping on her jacket and headed towards her dorm.

He sat watching until she reached the door, opened it and turned to wave him away before she entered the building. Once he was sure the door was safely closed behind her and no one else who should not be was entering the building, he turned the key and placed his right hand on the passenger seat, looking over his shoulder as he backed out of the spot.

He arrived home fifteen minutes later, keying himself in and closing the door behind him. He grabbed a beer out of the fridge and walked over to his piano. He sat his beer on the top of the piano, lifted the lid and sat down on the bench placing his hands above the keys he repeated the same pattern that he played with Lisa earlier in the evening; this time completing Chopin's entire etude.

He drifted into a jazzy number as he thought back over the evening. It had been fun. Lisa was easy to be with, attractive, funny. He understood that in a small way he had let her in tonite. He was conflicted about what that meant and whether he wanted to pursue it or not. There were very few people in his life and he did not want to ruin this thing, whatever it was by trying to make it more. He reached up and picked up his beer taking another drink. He sat it back down, pushing his thoughts to the back of his mind and losing himself in the music.


	9. Chapter 9

Greg sat in the break room reading a medical journal as he waited for his shift to end. He was on the clock for another fifteen minutes, but he had already finished his briefing with Amy, the resident he was shadowing today, and could leave as soon as the clock showed seven.

Despite how well their non-date had gone, he was surprised when Lisa had called him midweek to see if he wanted to go see _Clue _with her. He briefly contemplated saying no because he was not sure he could continue seeing her and not get involved or if he wanted to get involved. He had deflected for a bit, but finally caved when she offered to pay for his ticket. He decided that he would use this as a trial run for friendship because he liked her as more than just a possible lay and that was rare. He resolved to keep his flirting to a minimum for the entire evening.

He looked up at the clock and saw that he could leave. They were meeting at the Michigan at eight which gave him just enough time to go home, shower and walk to the theatre. He stood up, grabbed his journal and bottle of pop and walked over to his locker. He pulled out his backpack, unzipped it and stuffed the two items into it and closed it before making his way out of the hospital.

*

Lisa stood outside of the movie theatre waiting on Greg. She had their tickets and the movie did not start until half past, but Greg was already ten minutes late. He had not seemed particularly enthusiastic about coming with her tonight and knowing his apartment was only a fifteen minute walk away, she decided to go inside and use the payphone to make sure he had not stood her up.

The payphones were old style phone booths and she entered one closing the glass door behind her. She put in a quarter and took a moment to remember his number. She eventually pushed in all the digits and stood listening to the phone ring in her ear. It was on the tenth ring and she was about to hang up, when a loud rapping against the glass caused her to jump, dropping the receiver. She swiftly turned towards the noise, her hand coming up to her chest as she took in a quick silent gasp.

Greg was standing on the other side. He had a stupid grin on his face that showed his pleasure in successfully scaring her. She made a face at him, picked up the receiver and hung it back on the hook, retrieving her quarter before opening the door.

"Jerk," she hissed punching him in his arm and pushing him in the direction of their theatre, "You're late. We have to hurry to get good seats." she instructed anxiously.

"Ow! Stop abusing me, woman," he whined, bringing his hand up to rub his arm. "Woah, hold your horses missy, I need to get some food. I'm starving." He informed her as he diverted their route to the concession stand.

"Ugh," Lisa sighed sounding completely put upon, "Here's your ticket," she said handing it to him. "Get me some chocolate covered raisins and a cola. Get extra butter on the popcorn. I'll meet you inside. Theatre 3." She said over her shoulder as she rushed off towards the ticket taker.

"Yes, dear!" he yelled after her retreating figure.

He waited in line for five minutes. When he got to the front he ordered a large tub of popcorn with extra butter, chocolate covered raisins, cherry licorice, milk duds, dots, nachos, two colas and one hot dog. He paid and they loaded his stuff along with some napkins and condiments into a flimsy cardboard tray. He stuck his ticket in his mouth and lifted the tray carefully gripping it as he made his way to the theatre. The girl taking the tickets gave him a disgusted look when she had to retrieve the ticket from his mouth. He simply gave her a condescending smile and headed off to theatre 3.

Greg turned his back and used it to push his way through the doors. He paused halfway down the aisle and scanned the room looking for Lisa. She spotted him first and lifted her hand waving him towards their seats. Despite it being opening night, there were not a lot of people in the theatre with them and she had been able to get really great seats right in the center.

Greg carefully made his way down the aisle, stopping in front of Lisa and letting her take the colas off of the tray.

"You weren't kidding when you said you were hungry. Did you get my raisins?" she asked as she sat their drinks on the ground and sat back up greedily reaching over and looking for her candy.

Once the pop was off of the tray, Greg took his seat and placed the tray in his lap. Shifting carefully to remove his jacket and drape it over the seat next to him. He leaned away from her and playfully smacked Lisa's hand when she started rummaging for the candy. "Calm down, scavenging isn't attractive you know," he stated picking up the bag of raisins and tossing it towards her.

She caught the bag, rolling her eyes at him and opened it pouring out a handful of candies and cupping them into her mouth. She closed her eyes letting out a pleasant groan as she savored the chocolate melting against her tongue before she began to chew the candy. Greg watched her, shifting in his seat at her unexpected sounds of pleasure. He focused his attention on the food in his lap, setting the popcorn on the ground and digging into his nachos.

"So why'd you want to see this movie?" He asked through a mouthful of chips lifting his hand to motion at the screen.

Lisa looked over at him, wrinkling her nose at his manners, "Eating like a Neanderthal isn't attractive, you know," she mimicked leaning over to pick up her cola and taking a sip before she answered. "I love Tim Curry," she sighed.

Greg turned towards her with a questioning look on his face that asked her to elaborate as he continued making his way through his tray of nachos.

Lisa reached over and picked up a handful of popcorn continuing in an excited voice, "When I was home during summer break between my freshmen and sophomore years, my parents finally trusted me enough to let me go to the city with my best friend Kris. So we made plans to stay with my some friends at NYU for the weekend and went to the midnight showing of _The Rocky Horror Picture Show. _It was the most amazing experience ever. We got all dressed up and even though we were virgins we totally knew what we were doing." She relayed animatedly.

Greg had finished his nachos and was taking a drink of his cola when Lisa said she had been a virgin. He immediately removed the straw from his mouth, choking on the pop and squeezing his eyes as it burned its way out of his nose. He was in the middle of a coughing fit when Lisa began pounding him on his back.

"Are you okay?" she asked leaning towards him her tone concerned as she continued hitting him on the back.

"I'm fine." He wheezed, holding up a hand to get her to stop thumping him.

Lisa sat staring at him with a worried expression as he caught his breathe. She grabbed a couple of napkins and offered them to him. He took them and wiped his face. He blew his nose, blinking his eyes a few times and swiping at them. He sniffed a couple of times before he crumpled the napkin and threw it back on the tray.

"So you're a _Rocky Horror_ kind of girl huh? I never would have pictured you as the type." He commented glancing at her and picking up the ketchup to put it on his hot dog.

"What does that mean? What 'type' am I?" She asked curiously, unsure of whether she should be offended or not.

Greg took a bite of his hot dog and chewed it, swallowing before he answered, "When I was at Hopkins, I used to go into the City whenever I had the chance. I met some eclectic people while scoring various... recreationals. I did some clubbing. I've never been to an actual showing of the movie, but I've crashed at places with people who did. They were just weird. It was a whole different plane they were on. Not saying everyone who goes is weird, but... I just don't see you as being _that_ weird and that's who I associated it with. You strike me as pretty serious, not the type who would let loose like that." He finished thoughtfully shrugging his shoulders.

Lisa had turned towards him as he talked. She nodded her head, "Yeah, there were certainly some eccentric people there who took it very seriously, but it was fun." She smiled at the memory. "I'm focused on my studies when I'm here because that's why I'm here. When I'm not here, it's not like that." she waved her hand, "I spent last summer in New York housesitting my Uncle's apartment with my best friend. We spent half the time clubbing and the other half asleep. As soon as it was time to come back here, I got my focus where it needed to be. Just because I'm serious doesn't mean I can't have fun. They aren't mutually exclusive," She defended herself.

"I didn't say you weren't fun," Greg retorted, "I-," he paused when the lights went down and lowered his voice leaning closer to Lisa, "I like that you're not predictable." He said honestly, giving her a long look and then turning forward and focusing on the previews.

She gave him a half smile acknowledging he had not meant anything bad by his comments and dug out another handful of popcorn. She ate a couple of pieces and then tossed a few at the side of his face. "Bet you weren't predicting that," she teased in a whisper, her mouth semi-full of popcorn.

*

Three hours later, after grabbing a couple of slices of pizza and standing in a crowded eatery as they rehashed their favorite scenes from the movie, they were silently making their way towards Greg's apartment. Lisa had looped her arm through his and was leaning into him slightly as they walked. It had been a long week for her and the upcoming ones were scattered with finals. She had already mapped out her study schedule and was dreading getting started this weekend.

She sighed and tried not to focus on that right now, instead pondering whether or not she should have Greg drive her home or if she should ask if she could stay over. The thought of being wrapped in his arms and sleeping filled her with a sense of warmth. She was not sure though, if he would take it to mean she was ready for more or if it was even appropriate; they had not been as flirty as they usually were; she had sensed that he was being particularly reserved and she had felt cautious about this evening since their phone call so she did not want to push things.

When Lisa sighed, Greg looked down at her head rested on his arm. He shifted his arm out of her grasp and draped it across her shoulder. He was feeling really tired himself; he had arrived at the hospital at seven that morning and had not gotten much sleep the previous night. They were a block from his apartment, but his car was parked several blocks over. He figured he should ask now what she wanted to do.

"I don't think I could walk you to your dorm and get back here without falling asleep." He said suddenly yawning. "We should probably just head to my car now." He suggested coming to a stop in front of his building, separating himself from Lisa and gesturing down the street.

His yawn was contagious and Lisa found herself doing the same. She nodded her head at his offer to drive her home, hiding her disappointment that he had not invited her up. She was about to verbally accept when he continued.

"You know though if you wanted to just crash here, I'm okay with that too. My bed's big enough or there's the couch... I can drive you home in the morning." He offered awkwardly, fixing her with an uncertain stare, wondering why he had just said that.

She felt her stomach flutter and a rush a nerves when he suggested she spend the night. She had just been debating with herself over this very thing, and now that he was offering she found herself tongue tied. Instead of trying to produce a coherent sentence, she twined her fingers with his and led them towards the path to his building.

Greg let them in to his apartment. He flicked the light switch and closed the door behind them. He turned the latch and tossed his keys on the small table by his door. He gave her a quick tour, pointing out the living room, the kitchen which had a breakfast nook, the linen closet which doubled as his laundry with a stacked washer and dryer. He waved in the direction of the bedroom and bathroom since she already knew where they were.

This time Lisa took the time to take in her surroundings; she noted the piano on the far wall and the guitar that he mentioned. The living room had several bookshelves which were overflowing with paperbacks and hardcovers of various shapes and sizes. There was a big screen television with a Nintendo hooked up to it and a stack of games and controllers littering the floor in front of it.

The furniture was mismatched; the couch was good sized and had several pillows on it, there was a recliner and a wooden coffee table covered with magazines and newspapers and empty bottles. There were three framed prints on the wall, one was a Rolling Stones concert poster, one was for a Jazz festival and the other was a copy of the movie poster for _Bullitt. _The kitchen was pretty large and was surprisingly clean given his clear propensity for clutter. There was a small farm table surrounded by four mismatched wooden chairs in different colors in the breakfast nook.

She was standing perusing the books on his shelves, when he came back from his room with a Duran Duran t-shirt and a pair of scrub bottoms. He had already changed into a pair of blue striped boxers and a plain white t-shirt.

"Thought you might want to change," he said softly handing her the garments. "If you need a toothbrush, I acquired a bunch from the hospital and they're in the top drawer of the cabinet under the sink." He informed her as he ran his hand across the back of his neck in a nervous gesture.

"Thanks," she said giving him a nervous smile as she slipped past him and made her way to the bathroom shutting the door behind her.

Greg turned off the lights in the living room and kitchen and made his way back to the bedroom. He flicked the switch by the door turning off the overhead light and leaving the bedside lamp as the only light source in the room. He got into the bed and was just getting into a comfortable position when Lisa walked into the room.

He instantly noticed she was only wearing the t-shirt which came down to mid-thigh so she was completely covered, but he was still surprised. He half sat up and lifted his eyebrows questioningly.

As if anticipating his reaction, Lisa spoke as soon as she entered the room, "I remember how hot it was because of the radiator last time. Figured I didn't need the pants. Speaking of, where should I put these?" She asked holding them up with her left hand.

"Just put them anywhere," he said carelessly, motioning with his hand towards her side of the room.

Lisa put them on top of his bureau and made her way over to the bed. Greg lifted up the covers and shifted over as she climbed in. He lay on his back, his right arm folded under his head and his left across his stomach. Lisa half turned to adjust her pillow and shifted her body down next to Greg's. She scissored her legs with his and lifted his left arm, wrapping it around her as she shifted to her right side and snuggled up against him.

After several minutes, Greg heard her breathing start to even out and he shifted slightly off the bed, removing his right arm from under his head and reaching over to turn off the light. Lisa grumbled as he jostled her and slid her arm lower on his waist, sliding her hand under his t-shirt and resting it on his abdomen. Greg settled comfortably on his back, running his fingertips along the outside of her arm and shifting her body so her nose poked against his neck and his face was buried in her hair.

"Goodnight, Lisa." He murmured into the darkened room, breathing in her scent and closing his eyes as he imperceptibly tightened his grip around her. So much for keeping her at a distance he thought to himself as she mumbled something against his throat, snuggling closer to his warmth and shifting her hand to clasp his hip.


	10. Chapter 10

**This chapter is rated M.**

* * *

><p>It was Sunday and Greg was sitting in his living room, a textbook open on his lap. He had been that way for the past ten minutes. He released a sigh, closed the book and set it to the side. He stared at his television for several moments before deciding he would play Duck Hunt. He got up and turned on the game console, blowing on the bottom of the cartridge before pushing it into place and picking up the orange plastic gun, before he sat back down.<p>

He was just hitting level thirty-one when he got bored with the game. He stopped shooting at the screen, wrapping the cord around the plastic weapon and sitting it next to the system, before reaching over to turn it off. Deciding he would watch some television, he pressed the channel up button, leaving it on the tv guide channel, and headed to the kitchen to get a beer.

Greg sat back on the couch, watching the list of upcoming shows scroll up the screen and sipping from his beer. It was just coming up on noon so there really was not anything on. He sat the beer down on the coffee table and lifted the remote, pointing it towards the television and depressing the power button to turn it off. He dropped the remote on the couch next to him and reached for his textbook with a resigned sigh.

Leaning back into the couch, he lifted his feet to the coffee table and misjudged his placement knocking over the bottle of beer. Shooting forward, an expletive escaping his lips, he righted the beer bottle staunching the flow of liquid. Grabbing some napkins that were on the table, he sopped up the mess, picking up the papers and journals that had gotten wet and flicking them before laying them on the floor near the radiator. He got up and went into the kitchen, coming back with a sponge and some disinfectant spray to wipe down the area – he knew from previous experience that letting beer spills dry on their own led to an unpleasant stale smells.

He returned the sponge and the spray to the kitchen and came back into the living room where he flopped down on the couch. Using the last dry napkin, he picked up the bottle of beer and wiped it off, curiously peeling off a small piece of paper that was stuck to the bottom. It was his ticket stub from _Clue._ He looked at it for a few seconds before shaking some of the beer off of it and laying it on top of the pile of magazines drying on the floor.

He picked up his textbook, settled back into the couch and began to read. After a few minutes, he found himself staring at the ticket stub. Shaking his head, he reached for the beer and took a long drink, finishing it off and setting it down on the coffee table with a thunk. He glanced at the ticket one last time before he laid the textbook to the side and pushed himself off the couch. He walked over to his phone and sifted through some papers on the small table before finding the receipt he had written Lisa's number on. He stared at her number for a few moments, biting the inside of his lower lip as he contemplated whether or not he should call her.

It had been over a week since they had last seen each other. They had both been swamped with studying for and taking finals. He was still completing his rotation at the hospital and it was less than a week before the end of the term. He knew he could slack off a bit today; he had prepped all day yesterday and his last exams were Tuesday and Thursday, with an oral on Wednesday. He also knew most of Lisa's finals were during the week that had just passed and all that she had remaining was a test on Wednesday and a paper that was due on the last day of the semester.

Suddenly deciding that he wanted to see her and that she could probably use a study break too, whether she knew it or not, he picked up the phone and punched in her number. On the fourth ring, the call was picked up and Lisa's annoyed, slightly breathless voice came across the line in an abrupt greeting.

Greg's eyebrows lifted at her tone, a little surprised to hear her sounding so aggravated. "Nice to hear from you too," He said in a voice that was overly pleasant, pulling out the small stool under the phone table and sitting down.

"Greg?" Lisa questioned her voice a mixture of surprise and puzzlement.

"Are you asking because you're not sure it's me or because so many guys call you that you're just not sure _who _it is?" He joked.

"I'll take that as a yes," Lisa rejoined rolling her eyes, "And no, I am not asking to determine which of the many, _many_ men that call me this is." She mocked. "It's just that the phone has been ringing constantly for the past half hour with calls for my roommate. Since she's not here, I have to get up and come out here every time it rings. I can't focus. I just came back here from the library, which is way too full of people, hoping for some quite." She rushed on finishing with a sigh, "But you don't want to hear me going on about this. Which... why_ did _you call?" She asked suddenly curious since they had not spoken since he dropped her off last Saturday.

Greg ignored her comment about him not wanting to listen to her whine, figuring an honest answer to a rhetorical statement probably would not be in his best benefit. "Well, I was taking a study break and I called to see if you wanted to take it with me." He told her, his tone unrevealing of any of the nervousness he felt.

Lisa remained silent as she thought about the stack of books sitting on the desk in her room and mentally sighed. She was using them to write her paper. She was basically done – there were a few more quotes she wanted to pull and then she needed to proof her draft before going to type it up, but that was all that remained. The paper was not due until Friday and she had been studying pretty much nonstop since last Saturday for all her tests, including her last final coming up on Wednesday.

Greg did not take her silence as rejection, figuring she would not immediately take to the idea of a study break. "Look if you want, you can bring your stuff and study here after our break. I promise, no one is calling me and if they start, I'll unplug the phone." He cajoled.

Lisa listened to him, glancing around the sitting room; it would be good to get out of here and she _had_ missed seeing him the week past. She reminded herself that winter break was fast approaching, so there were not going to be too many more opportunities to see him before she went home. "Okay," she conceded happily.

She glanced over at the clock, noting the time. "It's a quarter 'til one. I guess I'll see you around two." She concluded.

"Okay." Greg replied, "Just buzz up when you get here and I'll come down and let you in." He instructed hoping the smile on his face was not too evident in his tone.

"Alright. See you in a bit." Lisa replied, ending the conversation and hanging up the phone.

"Mmm, this is _so_ good!" Lisa proclaimed, threading a bit of cheese into her mouth and chewing as she used the side of her finger to wipe a bit of sauce from her chin. "I didn't realise I was this hungry."

"Hey, I'm just as surprised as you," Greg rejoined, pausing as he watched Lisa suck the sauce from her finger before taking another bite of his slice of pizza and continuing with his mouth full, "I never would have believed that something with this much vegetation and fungi on it could possibly taste even halfway decent."

"You know, veggies never hurt anyone," she told him setting down her slice and pushing back from her seat. She made her way from the table in the breakfast nook, to the refrigerator and opened it, pulling out a beer. She looked towards Greg and held up the bottle, "Want?" she asked motioning towards him.

Greg continued chewing as he watched her making her way to the fridge. It was a little odd how comfortable she seemed at his place – even odder that he felt comfortable with her here. He nodded when she asked if he wanted a beer, swallowing he responded to her earlier statement as she found his bottle opener and pried the caps off the bottles, "What about the Princess and the pea? She couldn't sleep because of that pea. In fact, it _bruised _her. Pea's a vegetable..." He finished a serious expression on his face as he gave her a rather superior 'so there' look.

Lisa paused in her route back to the table, giving Greg an incredulous look before handing him his beer. "Did you really just site a _fairy tale _in an attempt to win an argument?" she asked furrowing her brows and pointing her index finger at him.

Greg leaned back in his seat and held her gaze, "Yep." He responded simply, smiling and taking a drink of beer.

Lisa opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She repeated the same movement one more time before retaking her seat at the head of the table. "You're an idiot." She finally settled on saying.

Greg laughed at her, leaning forward and tugging lightly at her ponytail, "That's why you love me," he joked.

Lisa looked up at him through her lashes, "Yup." She replied doofily, picking up her pizza and taking a huge bite as she smirked at him.

Lisa was setting at Greg's desk about to get a crash course in using his typewriter. After eating, they had settled down in the living room to study. She thought back over the day's events as he rummaged under the desk for paper. They were both solitary workers, a fact that did not surprise her. She had pulled her quotes and then set herself up in the window seat to read over and edit the final draft of her essay. After she moved off of the couch, Greg had stretched out to his full length, propping his bare feet up on the couch's arm and resting his textbook on his stomach.

There had been a minor clash at the being of their study session over what music to play, ending with them agreeing on two albums from Greg's pretty extensive collection: Van Halen's _Van Halen_ and The Rolling Stones' _Black and Blue_. The latter had led to a mini study break when they both started singing along to _Melody_ which in turn led to them trying to outdo each other with their best Jagger impressions. In the end, Greg grabbed her and danced her around the living room eventually collapsing with her onto the seat next to the couch. Lisa's skin flushed at the memory of straddling him and engaging in a short, but intense make out session during _Fool to Cry_.

Her reverie was broken when Greg nudged her legs aside to drag a box of paper out from under his desk. He pulled out an open ream and sat the paper next to the typewriter, pushing the box back under the desk with his foot. "So I assume you've used an electronic one of these before. It's pretty much the same, except you have to manually reset it by dragging this," he reached forward grasping a knob, "back to the left. And you have to manually roll the paper in. Easy trick is to just stop it when the top of the paper is even with the top of this bar." He informed her, pointing out the bar. "She's also finicky about speed; doesn't like it when you go too fast – the keys start to stick. Otherwise, the keyboard is pretty much the same." He stepped back leaning one hand on the desk and lifting the other in a slight flourish. "It's all yours."

Lisa nodded her head as she followed along with him. He was talking relatively quickly, but she got the gist of everything and since she was used to electronic typewriters she was not overly worried. "Would you mind loading the paper the first time? It'll be easier for me if I see you do it first." She queried, looking up at him and unclasping her hands in her lap.

"Sure." Greg agreed. He picked up a sheet of paper and stepped behind her seat. Leaning over her, his arms brushing lightly against her shoulders, he slowly went through the steps of loading in a sheet of paper, narrating each of his actions. When the paper was loaded, he showed her how to reset it and typed one line of text: _I am just looking for a human being._

Lisa smiled at his quote. She moved his hands to the side, resetting the typewriter as he had just shown her and typed a response: _Dearest Diogenes, maybe your lantern could not find one because you did not look amongst the women._

The depth of her knowledge always surprised and excited him; he had rested his chin on the crown of her head balancing his weight on his fingertips as she typed. Despite a brief grin at her being able to identify the source of his quote, he rolled his eyes as she finished typing her response. He reached up, resetting the typewriter quickly and rapidly typed: _Everybody Lies._

Lisa read his words and all the cynicism they were intended to confer. She silently scrolled the sheet of paper out, removing it from the typewriter and lifting another sheet. Easily loading the new piece of paper, she moved it down until she felt it was centered, typed three words and fed the sheet out. She looked around his cluttered desk until her eyes fell on a pen, which she grasped with her left hand, and illegibly signed her name below the black text.

She leaned forward, pulling a tack out of the cork board on his desk and laid the sheet against the board pushing the pin into it to hold it in place. She scooted the chair back and stood up, turning to look at Greg her hand coming up to rest against his chest as they waged a silent staring contest. She blinked first, turning her head away before stepping around him and leaving to use the restroom.

Greg had stepped back and was resting his hands on the back of her seat as she fed in the new sheet of paper. He could not read what she was typing or writing and watched her curiously, moving aside when she pushed back the chair. He looked down at her hand, before lifting his head to return her stare. He followed her with his gaze as she walked out of the room wondering what the previous moment had been about.

He shook his head, turning back to his desk and leaned over to read the paper she had signed and affixed to his corkboard: _I don't lie._

Three hours later, Greg reclined in the living room window seat staring up at the night sky. The radiator was working overtime, and he had opened the window, letting in the chill air to counteract the heat. His head rested against one of the pillows and he could hear the clacking of the typewriter from his bedroom. The sound had grown increasingly sporadic as the hours progressed. He imagined the silent interludes meant she had completed a chunk of her essay and was reading over it.

An hour ago, he had checked on her, just to make sure she was not having any problems with his machine. He had paused in the doorway, leaning against the doorjamb and watched her: she sat slightly hunched over, working intently - her eyes scanning her written words as her fingers fluidly punched away at the typewriter keys. The amber glow of his desk lamp left her mostly in shadow, illuminating her hands and half of her profile. He could not help but be slightly overwhelmed at how drawn he was to her in that moment. He shook off the feeling and returned to the living room without interrupting her.

His mind turned over all the reasons he should want to be with her: She was smart. She was funny. She could hold her own with him. She had a zesty bod. He could not understand why he had a knot of reservations twisting away in his gut. Then, there was that part of him that knew why; that part that, his father, John had instilled in him. The part of his brain that made him feel like a worthless, useless bastard who was only capable of making anyone around him miserable and who did not deserve someone like Lisa. He mostly refused to acknowledge that part existed, though it seemed his subconscious was not privy to this resolve when he felt himself getting emotionally close to anyone.

He had just pushed all thoughts of her to the back of his mind, closing his eyes and burrowing into the pillow, when he felt the cushions around him depress. He opened his eyes and looked up at her standing above him with a huge smile on her face.

"Done!" She exclaimed, lightly bouncing up and down in the window seat and shifting a lock of hair behind her ear as she smiled down at him.

Her happiness was contagious and he could not help but smile back.

"It's snowing." She observed wistfully, looking out the window at the flakes falling to the ground and the inch of white powder that had built up on the window ledge. "I guess I'm stuck here..." She half asked, half teased as she dropped down opposite him, and brought her knees up to her chest.

"I guess you are." Greg replied a playful glint in his eye as he shifted, moving his feet to cover hers.

Lisa jumped back, smacking at his legs, "Ack," she blustered, "Your feet are like ice!" she exclaimed shifting away from him only to lunge forward and flop onto his stomach.

Greg clenched his abdomen as she landed, knocking a bit of wind out of him. His hands came up to her shoulders and he attempted to roll her onto her back, but she was stronger than she looked and they play wrestled until he finally managed to get on top of her. They were both a little breathless and she was giggling as he pressed his weight into her body, holding her in place, his knees on either side of her stomach.

She smiled up at him, her eyes closing as he leaned down and placed a light kiss to the tip of her nose before grazing a trail over her mouth. He buried his face into the side of her neck, nipping lightly at her skin and peppering her neck with a series of sucking kisses, before settling his mouth in the crook between her shoulder and neck and working on giving her a hickey.

Lisa tensed when she realised what he was doing, "Greg. Stop it right now." She warned speaking slowly and enunciating each word. When he kept on sucking, she began squirming, but he persisted. It was at that moment a breeze blew in from the window, catching her attention and springing her mind to action. She reached out her hand towards the open window and scooped up as much snow as she could. She clamped it into her hand, and brought it back inside, clasping the icy crystals against the back of Greg's neck and sliding her hand under his shirt and down his back.

Greg reacted immediately, shooting away from her and sitting up. His back arched as the snow melted down his back and his body quivered in an involuntary shiver. Lisa took the opportunity to roll from under him and pushed herself upright, standing on her feet and moving to step off of the window seat.

Greg recovered quickly, reaching over with his long arms and grabbing her around the waist to prevent her from escaping. He hopped off of the seat, sliding his arms around her and standing in front of her. She stood a little above him and her arms came up to his shoulders holding him at a brief distance. He stared up at her flushed cheeks trailing his eyes to the mark that was beginning to form at the base of her neck. Her breathing had evened slightly and her hands untensed against him as his gaze returned to hers; he had the bluest eyes she had ever seen she thought to herself.

They stayed that way for several minutes, before Greg brought his hands up to her hair, which she had released from the confines of the ponytail, and brushed it back from her face. He leaned down and pressed an open mouthed kiss against her lips; her mouth parted eagerly to let in his tongue.

"We should go to bed?" He asked, pulling back slightly his voice barely a whisper.

Lisa leaned her face into his thumbs as he massaged her cheeks, and nodded. His arms wrapped firmly around her waist as he tugged her forward off of the window seat. She was startled by his abrupt movement, but recovered quickly, instinctively wrapping her legs around his waist as he lifted her towards him and crossing her arms around his shoulders.

Their kisses were uncoordinated as he carried her, bumping against the couch and bookshelves as he made his way towards the bedroom. The only light on in the bedroom was from his desk lamp and it cast a peachy-orange glow in one corner of the room that was only strong enough to suffuse the room with an amber mist of light.

Greg navigated his way to the bed, bending over and gently laying Lisa on top of the covers. He righted himself and stood above her as he removed his t-shirt and pants, leaving on his boxers. Once he had discarded them, he crawled into the bed with her.

Lisa's arms immediately came up wrapping around him as they engaged in a slow teasing kiss; their tongues slid leisurely against each other as they reacquainted themselves with each other's taste. Greg's hands slid under her shirt, pulling it up her body and tugging it off, before tossing it to the floor. His eyes followed his hands as they slid over her torso, trailing a path over her ribs and up her neck before sliding into her dark locks. His fingers applied pressure to the back of her head urging her up and pressing her lips more firmly against his.

Greg moved his mouth from her lips, trailing kisses along her jaw before stopping and sucking on her neck. Remembering the last time she had allowed him free reign, Lisa tugged his hair harshly and dug her nails into his scalp as she pushed him away from her neck. Greg grunted at her hurtful ministrations. He placed light kisses to the rounded tops of her breast that jutted above her bra, as he slowly made his way down her body. When his face was even with her abdomen he nipped and kissed the tight skin around her belly button, dipping his tongue into the concave indent and swirling it as his hands came up to unbutton her pants.

Lisa's body tensed at the warm, wet sensation of his tongue on her stomach, but she did not resist when his hands came up and undid the button of her jeans. He grasped her zipper and pulled it down. She lifted her ass from the bed as he cupped his fingers into the top of her jeans and tugged them over the ample curves of her buttocks. He completely removed them and tossed the denim over the side of the bed.

Greg paused to take in a few gasping breaths at the sight of her in a skimpy red lace thong before he dove his face between her thighs. His senses were overwhelmed by her musky scent. He kissed her through the flimsy garment, nuzzling his nose against her and tracing his tongue along the edge of the lace and the crease of her thigh. He dipped his forefingers beneath the straps at her waist and tugged the underwear down her thighs and over her ankles, dropping it to the ground as soon as it was free from her body.

He hovered above her, his hands massaging circles around her knees as he memorised the sight of her naked and disheveled beneath him. He caressed her knees in one final clockwise motion, before sliding his hands towards the juncture of her thighs. His fingertips grazed the faint bit of hair that was growing above her sex before he pulled back and gripped her lower thighs pressing them to the mattress as he held her open and exposed.

Lisa's gaze never moved from his face as she watched him looking at her. She could feel her arousal growing, the evidence of it slowly seeping out of her vagina as he ran his thumbs up and down her thighs, his fingers clasping into her flesh as he gripped her tightly. After pressing her legs open, he seemed to be locked in place. To jolt him out of it, she lifted a hand to her mouth, gently sucking on her fingers, before lowering it to her vagina and slowly tracing her labia with the tips of her fingers.

Greg's breath caught and his eyes dilated even further when she began touching herself. He felt his arousal lengthen and as much as he was getting off on watching her an internal cry of offense had him grasping her wrist and moving it out the way as he leaned forward and replaced her fingers with the barest trace of his tongue. Lisa gasped when his cool, wetness made contact with her heated flesh; her hands immediately threaded into his hair massaging his scalp in encouragement. Greg had always gotten just as much pleasure from pleasing his partners as he got from having them please him and he enthusiastically began heeding Lisa's direction.

He traced both sides of her labia with is tongue, before he began slow patterns from the bottom of her clit to her entrance. Lisa was already producing a lot of natural lubricant and he loved the taste of it; it was clean, musty and slightly salty. It, however, caused him to falter in his quest to pleasure her; he paused in his ministrations suctioning his lips around her hole and lapping up as much of the flavor of her as he could. Lisa shifted about beneath him, her pelvis arching into his mouth and her hands pressing his head into her vagina so forcefully that she could feel his teeth scrapping against her sensitive tissues.

Greg pulled back briefly to take in several deep breaths, his fingers sliding over her to splay her sex open for him as his mouth returned to lick at her pink, moist flesh. He tested several different movements and variations of firmness on her vagina before he found the one that had her arching her back and pumping involuntarily into his mouth. He made a mental note that she liked the letter 's' at a semi-firm pressure with the tiniest bit of suction at the end, before he continued to repeat the series of movements that was driving her towards orgasm.

Lisa did not know what he was doing, but it had her right at the edge and she knew if he stopped she would kill him. The tension in her body was so incredible that she just needed one little bit more to put her over the edge. She did not have the patience to wait for him to figure out what that 'bit' was, so she slid her hand to her clit and furiously rubbed herself to completion crying out as she felt her body tense and her vaginal muscles contracting in euphoric waves of release.

When Lisa's hand moved down to stimulate her clit, Greg doubled his efforts to get her off; continuing to run his tongue across her folds, he brought his right hand up and barely pushed his fingers into her entrance, pulling them out and tracing circles in her wetness. When he felt her body tense beneath him, he slid two fingers into her and sucked lightly on her vagina, flicking her clit gently as he felt the strong waves of her body's internal contractions massaging his fingers as his mouth filled with the sweet, viscous fluid signaling her orgasm.

Lisa rode out the final pulses of climax, consciously clenching around Greg's fingers before slumping onto the bed completely relaxed. He slid his fingers out of her, wiping them across the side of the bed and nuzzled his face into her thigh to wipe away the excess wetness from around his mouth. He shifted up, resting his head on her stomach as she relaxed and came back to earth, her hands massaging his head and threading through his hair.

Lisa was the first to recover, probably because her bladder was screaming to her for release. She shifted her leg from its place around Greg's lower back and smoothed her palms across his shoulder blades before speaking, "I have to get up." She said reluctantly, lightly nudging at him to signal he needed to get off of her.

Greg was just as sated as Lisa and had heavily settled on top of her. He was not surprised when she began urging him off. Nonetheless, he firmed his grip against her for several seconds before he rose off her, only to make his way up her body. He slid his hands into her hair and initiated a deep, wet kiss running his tongue along hers and offering his lips, making sure she could taste herself on him. They kissed until it naturally ended and he pressed his hands into the bed, pushing himself up to allow her room to get out of the bed.

When his body was no longer trapping her, Lisa rolled her legs off the side of the bed; she lifted her hands to the back of her bra, unhooked it and slipped it off, tossing it to the floor. She flexed the muscles in her thighs to test that they were strong enough to carry her to the bathroom before she climbed out of the bed.

Greg watched as Lisa removed her bra, reaching over and running his finger along her spine. When she climbed out of the bed, he stretched his body in complete contentment before rolling and pushing himself into an upright position. He lowered his legs over the side of the bed and planted his feet firmly on the floor moving his right hand to palm his erection and providing himself some much needed relief. He closed his eyes as his hand slipped inside his briefs and he began stroking himself.

Lisa watched him silently from the doorway before crossing the room and stopping in front of him. He was unaware she had returned, until he felt her hand running across the wiry hair that marked the path from his stomach to his penis and then slid beneath the cotton of his boxers, her fingers entangling with his own. He opened his eyes, his free hand coming up to grip her waist as he locked gazes with her, both of their hands continuing to stroke his erection.

Lisa awkwardly straddled him, finally finding her balance once her knees gained purchase on either side of him and her free hand took hold of his shoulder. Her position perfectly aligned her breasts with his mouth in an enticement that Greg could not ignore. His tongue darted out and traced her right breast before he took it into his mouth suckling deeply for several minutes before lightly scraping her erect nipple with his teeth as he released it from his mouth.

Lisa's free hand moved to grip the back of Greg's neck as he suckled her breast, her chin cradling his head as she continued to stroke him. When he released her breast, she zig-zagged her hand down his chest and slipped it into his boxers to lightly cup his testicles. She applied variable pressure until she found the combination of force and stroking that made his breath catch. She covered his mouth with hers, biting his lip and tangling with his tongue until she felt his body begin to tense beneath her.

She slid her mouth across his cheek, stopping at his ear and circling the lobe with her tongue before she breathily whispered into his ear, "You made me _so_ wet; I came so _hard _for you. I want you to come harder for me. Please Greg, please come for me."

Greg did not know if it was her hands moving perfectly in his pants, her tongue sliding across his heated skin, the words she spoke huskily into his ear or a combination of them all that pushed him over the edge. He clasped both of his hands around her ass, pressing her into him and buried his face into her breasts as he came apart in her hands. Lisa felt the hot stickiness of his orgasm spurt across her fingers and coat the insides of his boxers as he moved his hips against her, jutting into her pelvis as he bit her collarbone muffling his groan of release. Lisa gave him a few light strokes before removing her hands from his penis. She wiped them on the outside of his boxers and slid them around his hips to grip his lower back as his mouth slid across her chest and his head finally came to rest pressed into her breastbone as he took is several deep, ragged breaths.

Lisa leisurely rubbed a path up and down his back, her head resting on his shoulder as his hands massaged her thighs and ass. Eventually, he clasped his arms around her back and stood up, shifting her as she locked her legs around his waist and he walked them to the bathroom. He lowered her to the floor and turned towards the toilet. Lisa turned on the shower, testing the water with her hand before stepping in and closing the curtain. Greg removed his boxers and relieved his bladder before climbing into the shower.

Lisa was already wet and soapy. Greg stepped behind her and placed a trail of kisses along the back of her neck before dipping his head under the spray. They quickly cleaned their bodies, letting the water and soap wash off the remnants of semen and sweat before he reached around her and cut the taps. He stepped out first, pulling the lone towel from the towel rack and handing it to her, before he made his way out of the bathroom to the linen closet to retrieve one for himself.

He rubbed at his body as he made his way back into the bedroom. Lisa stood at the end of the bed, using her left arm to balance herself with the railing at the foot of the bed as she dried her feet. She looked up when he came into the room, giving him a soft smile before looking down as she continued to dry her body. He stepped up to her brushing against her and throwing his towel over the railing next to her hand. He grasped her chin and lifted her face as he bent to kiss her. "You're beautiful," He whispered against her lips as he ran his hands down her back finally resting them against the top of her ass and tracing circles into her lower back as he pulled her into a light hug.

Greg released her, stepping back and walking over to turn off the desk lamp. She watched him, taking pleasure in the way the muscles of his back and thighs and ass rippled as he walked. She loved the way he was not ashamed about his body and the way he made her feel unapologetic about her own. She placed her towel next to his, and rounded the end of the bed, lifting up the covers and climbing in just as he turned off the desk lamp and doused the room in darkness.

Greg stood for a moment, letting his eyes adjust to the lack of light, before he made his way to the bed. Lisa lifted the covers, guiding him in and they shifted to the center of the bed, fully entwining all their limbs. Greg's arms wrapped around her and his face snuggled into the space between her neck and shoulder, while Lisa's legs encircled his thigh and her arms lay across his chest, her hands clasping his shoulders and her head lying against his collarbone.

"G'Night," Lisa whispered, pressing a gentle kiss to his chest and closing her eyes as she nestled into his warmth.

"Night," Greg replied, kissing her hair before he settled onto the pillow next to her. He rested his chin against her head and closed his eyes, letting the sense of contentment that flooded his body lull him to sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

Lisa put the last of her shopping into the backseat and reached down to push the driver's seat back into place. She grabbed her latte off the top of the car and slid into the front seat, shutting the door after her. Putting the key in the ignition she turned it, and settled back, sipping at her drink as she waited for the car to warm up.

She checked her watch in the glare from the lights in the mall's parking lot, noting she had roughly a half hour before she needed to pick Greg up. In turn for dropping him off at seven o'clock this morning, he let her borrow his car to get her holiday shopping done. Hanukkah had already passed this year, but since both she and her sister were unable to make it home, their family had decided to exchange gifts when they were home over winter break.

Normally, it would not have taken her so long to shop, but she had decided she wanted to get Greg something for Christmas. She had not been back to his apartment since their study session on Sunday so she had not had the opportunity to snoop through his things – it would have helped her to make a more informed guess about what he liked. During the lunch they had shared before her final test yesterday, she had peppered him with leading questions. He had been suspicious and tight lipped, figuring out immediately what she was trying to do and making it impossible for her to get any clues as to what he might want.

She smiled to herself, thinking about the two items she purchased for him; she thought he would like them and was eager to give them to him. Deciding the car had warmed up long enough; she settled the latte between her legs, backed out of the spot and made her way to the hospital. When she arrived, Greg was standing just inside the entrance doors shifting from foot to foot, his backpack slug over one shoulder. He pushed open the doors as soon as he spied his car and half slid, half jogged down the walkway - a pair of scrubs, a plaid scarf and a light grey beanie all that stood between him and frozen extremities.

Coming to a stop at the curb and putting the car in park, Lisa rolled her eyes at his lack of outerwear as she watched him make his way to the car. She had chided him about it that morning when she was driving him in and he had dismissed her saying he did not need to get bundled up when all he had to do was get to the car. She startled when he opened the driver's door, ordered her to move over and reached down to grab the cup from between her legs. Though she still had her coat on, she did not want to get out and deal with the cold, so she shifted over the console into the passenger's seat. Greg tossed his pack into the backseat and slid into the driver's seat releasing the lever and pushing it back to accommodate his legs before shutting the door.

"Ugh! What the hell is this?" He demanded, choking down the mouthful of liquid he had just consumed and staring petulantly at the cup before turning towards her.

"It's a peppermint latte – you know 'tis the season and all." Lisa responded cheerfully, smirking at him as she reached over and retrieved her drink from him and taking a loud slurping sip.

Greg rolled his eyes, "Yeah. Yeah. So did you eat during your little shopping extravaganza? 'Cause I'm starving." He enquired, putting the car into drive and heading towards the hospital exit.

"No, I haven't eaten since a grabbed a pretzel at the mall." She replied a little surprised that she had not been overcome with hunger since it was seven o'clock at night. "What do you want? It'll be my treat, since you're driving me to the airport in the morning." She asked looking over at him as she readjusted the vents so she could get more heat.

"Chinese." Greg immediately responded, knowing they would deliver and there would be options for both of them. He realised he did not know where he should be headed once he was on the main road that could take them either to her dorm or to his apartment, "I guess we should head to your dorm?" He asked, looking at her briefly, unsure of whether or not she was okay with that.

Since the morning after, Greg had been a bit hesitant with her; it sort of felt like they were in a relationship, but at the same time they were not. Though there had been a little awkwardness on Monday, they were not uncomfortable with each other. In fact, he seemed to touch her more during their lunch and she had been more open with him – there had been some sexual banter it was pretty low key.

Lisa was not sure how she felt about the whole thing herself so she was not making an issue of his reaction, particularly since they were about to take an extended break from each other. She had assumed they would stay at her place – her roommate was gone home already and she had the suite to herself. She told him such and he took the turn towards her dorm.

After helping her take her shopping bags upstairs and making a few snide comments about the amount of stuff she had purchased, Greg told her what he wanted her to order him and decided to take a shower. He usually showered after his shift at the hospital, but today being his last day he had been eager to get out of there.

Lisa placed their order and went into her room to change. She shed her day clothes and thermals in favor of a purple satin night set consisting of shorts and a tank top. It was hot enough in her room that she was comfortable without socks so she decided not to put any on. She put her clothes in the hamper in her closet and pulled down her suitcase from the shelf, sitting it on the floor next to her bureau. Opening the small fridge in her room, she pulled out a couple of bottles of water for herself and Greg and took them into the living room.

It was not until she sat down on the couch that she realised how tired she was. Taking a drink of water, she recapped the bottle and sat it on the table. Then she leaned back into the couch and feel into a light doze. Fifteen minutes later, a ringing phone woke her, and she rose off of the couch, groggy and bleary eyed to answer it.

Greg was still in the shower so Lisa left a note on her whiteboard and grabbed her keys and wallet to go get the food. He still was not back by the time she returned and she let herself in, wiping off the board and hanging the keys on the hook at the door. She crossed the room and dumped the food and her wallet on the coffee table in the seating area. She took out the various containers, sauce packets, napkins, fortune cookies and chopsticks and sat the empty bag on the floor. She had just pulled out a spring roll, when she heard voices just outside her door, followed by a brisk knock.

When she answered, Greg was standing on the other side his bare back to her and his lower half covered in a yellow towel that he held closed at the waist. He was giving Heather, the R.A. on her floor, a dirty look. He turned towards her when he heard the door open, lifting his hand and pointing at her and then back to the R.A.

"Can you tell her that I'm your guest, so that she'll calm down and call off the dogs?" He directed her, returning his glare to the woman standing next to him.

"Lisa, you know this man? You _willingly_ invited him into your room?" Heather asked, her voice conveying both shock and concern as she took in Lisa's rumpled appearance and slightly sluggish state.

Greg gave the woman an incredulous look, "Are you serious? I'm standing here in _her_ towel and you're asking that!" He waved his hand, punctuating his words.

Heather crossed her arms and gave him a challenging look.

"This is absolutely ridiculous." Greg spoke dismissively, giving the girl a once over. "How are you even in college? You obviously don't have _any_ functioning cognitive skills." He said snidely, offended at what she was implying.

The spring roll still in her hand, Lisa stood in the doorway looking back and forth between the two of them dumbfounded, "Uhh..." was all she managed to get out before Heather continued talking over her.

"Don't speak to me that way." Heather huffed, "I have enough sense to listen when I hear people talking about guys like you and it's my responsibility to make sure the students on my floor are safe. I have never seen you here with her, and it's my duty to investigate anything I deem suspicious. That's what I am doing." She finished glaring at him.

"First of all, you don't know me, so you can keep your judgments to yourself. Secondly, there's _nothing_ suspicious about this. You obviously need to get laid and stay out of other people's personal business." Greg spat out, turning and taking a step towards Lisa's room. He was stopped when the Heather's hand shot out and grabbed his upper arm. Greg froze, his eyes icing over as they fixed on the hand that was grasped around him.

"Look at her," Heather intoned lifting her free hand towards Lisa, "She looks drugged and out of." Heather turned her full attention to Lisa and asked slowly, searching her face and body language to make sure she was getting a truthful answer. "Did you invite him here and do you want him to come into your room?"

Heather putting her hand on Greg jarred Lisa from her stupor, "Get your hands off of him." She demanded appalled at what she was seeing. The R.A. complied, but Lisa's eyes widened in shock at what Heather said next and her tone conveyed it, "He wouldn't be here if I hadn't invited him and you have no right to imply what you are. I'm not drugged, I was sleeping. He certainly didn't force his way here; he would never do that to anyone." Lisa finished giving the other woman a pointed look. "I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine. _We're_ fine." She took Greg by the wrist, pulling him into the room and shut the door in Heather's face.

Greg was still stunned by what had just transpired. He was embarrassed for himself, but more so for Lisa. A part of him kneGreg came out of the bedroom ten minutes later. His hair was still damp and he was dressed in a t-shirt and flannel pajama bottoms. He crossed the room and sat down on the couch next to her, avoiding eye contact as he looked through the various containers before locating his Mongolian beef and digging in. Lisa watched him thoughtfully for several minutes as she ate her Szechuan fried tofu and garlic green beans.

When she finished, she sat down the empty container and chopsticks, and turned towards Greg, taking his food from him and setting it next to hers on the table. She shifted towards him, lifting her right leg and working it over his lap as she placed her hands on his shoulders and waited until he looked her in the eye before speaking. Her heart clenched at what she saw in his eyes, "I'm sorry that happened. You didn't deserve that. I trust you and I'm glad you're here. I want you to be here." She voiced sincerely, her fingertips rubbing his shoulders and gently shifting him towards her as she leaned forward to place a soft lingering kiss on his lips.

When they parted, he let his head drop back on the couch and looked at her through half lidded eyes. His hands lifted and traced up her legs to her lower back where he rubbed circles at the base of her spine. "I did deserve it; there are consequences to having a reputation and they aren't all good." He sighed, "You didn't think that highly of me either when we first met." He reminded her. "I just... you don't deserve to have your reputation ruined or your judgment questioned because of me." He finished vehemently, his hands unconsciously tightening on her back.

Lisa was surprised by his protectiveness and anger. She shook her head in negation as she replied, "I'm a big girl. I know that whatever does or doesn't happen with you – _with us_ – there are going to be things said about me. If I didn't think I could handle it and if I didn't think you might be worth it, you wouldn't be here." She admitted, her voice hardening in rebuke and warning.

Greg held her stare for several seconds, breaking contact first as he clenched his jaw and looked away. He moved his hands to her thighs, patting them in a signal, which she heeded, for her to get off of him. He stretched out his legs and looked over at her. She had not moved very far from him and was sitting with her legs pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. Her chin rested on her knees and she looked at him questioningly waiting to see what he was going to do.

He had become wary of doing anything more with her tonight. When he came over, he had been hesitant, but he was aware a large part of him wanted to be with before she left for break. Now, he needed some time to step back and think about all of this and the consequences it could have for both of them.

He decided not to dwell on it though and looked at his watch, before lifting his hand and resting it on her kneecap, lightly tapping the bare skin. "It's almost nine." He informed her. "Have you packed yet?"

Lisa nodded her head, happy he was not going to retreat from her, "No. I don't have a lot to pack though; I still have a closet full of clothes at home." She told him with a slightly chagrined look.

"Of course you do." He replied rolling his eyes, and shifting to push himself up from the couch. He reached out his hand towards her, "Come on, we need to get you packed and into bed." He urged motioning with his fingers for her to get up.

She let her legs down, and took his hand letting him pull her off the couch. He released her and they moved around the coffee table and walked to the bedroom. Lisa flicked on the light switch and headed towards the bureau. Greg occupied himself with looking at the framed prints, clippings, postcards and photos she had on one wall and above her desk. He smirked inwardly at the one the one proclaiming 'you'll only feel better when it's done'. He sat in the chair at her desk, rummaging through the drawers and playing with her pens and supplies. He was flipping through her word a day calendar, when his attention was caught by pile of mail. He picked it up, swivelling around in the chair and sorting through the letters.

Lisa pulled out the items she was taking with her from her bureau. She had mentally prepared a list so the task went fairly quickly. She dragged the suitcase across the floor to the closet and pulled out a couple of things that she wanted to take home to leave – she needed the space here more. She walked out to the living room to get her shopping bags just as Greg sat down at her desk. She knew he was overly curious – a snoop really – so she hurried up and grabbed her purchases and came back into the room. She sat the bags on the ground next to her suitcase and looked over at Greg just as he swivelled around with a handful of her mail.

"Umm, I can assure you that none of that is addressed to you." She reprimanded him, closing the space between them and snatching the envelopes from him as she gave him a pointed look. "Why are you so nosy?" She asked leaning around him and placing the letters in a neat stack on her desk.

Greg's head lifted at the sound of Lisa's voice and he easily relinquished her mail; there had not been anything interesting in it. He shrugged his shoulders in answer to her question. She moved back over to the bags and bent over, pulling out items and placing them into her suitcase, sorting some of the more fragile things into a bag that she would carry on to the plane with her.

Greg tilted is head, enjoying the view of her ass and the expanse of leg that was left uncovered by her shorts. She really was incredibly hot. He had been with a lot of women of various shapes and sizes, but there was something about her. Her curves, her skin, her hair, her eyes, the way she smelled, the way she tasted – just everything; he was completely drawn to. He felt his arousal start to become evident and pushed himself up from the seat, excusing himself to deal with the leftovers from their meal. Most of the containers were nearly empty, so he just tossed everything into the paper sack and left the two fortune cookies on the table.

He picked up the bag, walked back to Lisa's bedroom and stopped in the doorway. "I'm going to throw this out." He lifted the bag slightly, "You have anything else you want me to take?" He asked.

Lisa was zipping up her suitcase and looked over her shoulder at him to answer his question, "No. I emptied all of the containers yesterday. Thanks." She said, giving him a smile and finished closing the luggage.

Greg propped the front door open with a shoe and walked down the hallway to the small kitchen. He tossed their trash and washed his hands, shaking the excess water and swiping them across his t-shirt as he headed back to her room. He toed the shoe out of the way, shut the door behind him and locked it before going back into the bedroom.

Lisa was sitting on her bed, her feet stretched in front of her, crossed at the ankle and swaying from side to side. She had two packages in her lap; both were wrapped in silver paper and one was larger than the other. Greg paused midway into the room, when he spotted the gifts.

"I got you something for Christmas." She told him with as much nonchalance as she could muster. She hoped that if she did not make a big deal out of it, neither would he.

"I can see that." He inclined his head towards her lap, "But aren't you a Jew?" He retorted, raising his eyebrows and giving her a slight grin in an attempt to cover how suddenly uncomfortable he felt. The only person who got him anything for Christmas was his Mom.

Despite his efforts to hide his discomfort, she could see it in the way he stiffened and hear it in the way he deflected. She ignored it though, giving him a mock snarl, "Yes. I'm Jewish, but you're not. Therefore I'm allowed to acknowledge your holiday just as you would have acknowledged mine." She told him calmly.

"Touché," he rejoined giving her a half smile and turning away from her. "I... I actually got you something too. Not for Christmas, for Hanukkah, even though it's already passed. I..." He stumbled to a stop, locating his bag by the doorway and rummaging through it. He pulled out a small package perfectly wrapped in newspaper. His hand tightened around it, and then he made his way over to the bed offering the gift to her.

Lisa was glad he turned around because she could not contain her shock over the fact that he had gotten her something. She had not expected anything from him, but it was nice to think that he had thought of her. When he turned around she had a full fledged smile on her face and she lifted her hand eagerly taking the package from him. She weighed it in her hands and shook it by her ear, before lowering it and studying the wrapping.

"You're one of those people," he teased, watching her size up his gift as he shifted down to sit next to her.

Lisa gave him a doubtful look, "And you're not?" she accused sitting the gift to the side and handing him the two she had gotten for him.

"You can't open them until Christmas." She instructed, watching as he mirrored her previous actions.

Greg's head shot up at her decree, "Why not? I've been a good boy all year." He whined pouting cutely. "Why don't we just both open them now?" He attempted to negotiate.

Lisa laughed at him; he was like a little boy and she found it adorable, "Because." She answered.

"Because? That's not a reason." He replied annoyed, his face relaying his disgust with her argument.

"Well it's the only reason you're going to get." She responded, standing up and ruffling his hair before leaning down to place a patronising kiss on his forehead.

Greg leaned away when she put her hand in his hair, giving her a petulant look as she straightened from kissing him. "I really don't like you very much right now." He said frowning up at her.

"Sure you don't." Lisa replied her tone indicating she did not believe him. Looking at the clock on the shelf above her bed, she motioned for him to get up us she turned and sashayed out of the room, speaking over her shoulder, "Come on, it's already past ten. I need to brush my teeth and we need to get to bed. My flight leaves at eight thirty, so we need to be out of here by seven at the latest."

Greg stared after her for a moment, then lumbered to his feet calling after her, "Yes, Mistress!"

It was still dark outside when the alarm went off the next morning at six o'clock. Greg groaned, reaching his long arms up and pulling the clock off the shelf, randomly pressing buttons until the annoying high pitch beep ceased. He set the clock on the floor by the bed and burrowed back down into the covers. Lisa stirred, Greg's movements jostling her partially awake and alerting her mind to the fact that she needed to get up. Her body, however, decided it would be a better idea to snuggle up against the warm bulk next to her. She slipped her hands over Greg's stomach, resting her check between his shoulder blades and spooning him as she fell back to sleep.

They were once again brought out of their slumber by the alarm. This time, however, Lisa reached for the clock and turned it off instead of snoozing it. She mentally prepped herself to get out of the bed. Finally rolling away from Greg, she threw back the covers and sat upright.

Greg shifted, spreading himself out and moving into the warm spot left behind by her body.

Lisa moved her legs off the edge and did her morning stretches, before pushing herself upright and padding across the room to turn on a lamp. She moved to the center of her rug where she settled into the first pose of her five minute morning yoga routine. When she had time, she spent a half hour, but she had developed the shortened version for the mornings where she was running late or did not have the energy. She finished up and gathered her bathroom stuff and a towel, snatching up her keys on her way and closing the door behind her.

She came back into the room twenty minutes later and Greg was still sleeping soundly. She knew from previous experience, that he could hop out of bed and be ready to go in a matter of minutes so she let him sleep while she moved her suitcase and the bag she was carrying on to the plane to the front door. She gathered up her purse, making sure she had her driver's license and dumped her keys inside, along with a bottle of water and a granola bar and set them on the table next to the front door.

It was a quarter until seven when she decided it was time to wake up Greg. She walked back into the bedroom, made her way to the bed and turned on the bedside lamp. She kneeled down, straddling his back and nuzzled into him, letting the damp tendrils of her hair slick across his face and neck.

Greg cringed away from the ticklish cold of her hair, shrugging his shoulders up in a protective gesture. "Come on! Get off me!" He whined, pushing back against her chest to dislodge her from his body.

"It's time to get up." She said sweetly, placing a kiss to the back of his neck before rolling off of him towards the wall.

He lifted his hands to rub his eyes, and slanted a grumpy look at her, "You couldn't have just _said _that?" he asked through a yawn. "What time is it?"

"You've got fifteen minutes." She informed him poking him in the side to nudge him towards getting up.

"Mmh," Greg nodded in acknowledgement. "I'll just lay here for five more minutes."

Lisa's tone grew serious, "Greg, get up. I already let you sleep as long as you could. We need to get going." She ordered.

"Fine." He huffed, throwing the covers off and rolling towards the edge of the bed. Somehow, he had forgotten that her bed was not on a frame and he fell right off the edge to the floor with a solid thump.

"Got Dammit!" He exclaimed rubbing at the back of his head and shooting her a dirty look. "What the hell kind of idiot puts their bed on the ground in the first place?" He demanded.

Lisa reached towards him in a failed attempt to grab him when she saw he was about to roll out of the bed and onto the floor. She jumped a little at the force with which he hit the hard wood, but her sympathy ended at his comment. She returned his look, climbing out of the bed gracefully and stepping over him, "Not the kind who's too stupid to manage to climb out of one properly. I'm going to go warm up the car. You better be down in ten minutes." She informed him as she exited the room.

They arrived at the airport an hour before Lisa's flight. They parked the car in the short term lot and made their way inside to the proper terminal. Check in and security went smoothly and once through, they went to the cafe that Lisa frequented when she flew. They both ordered coffees to go and Greg got two cake donuts, one with strawberry glaze. They stopped at the table with sugars and creams to prepare them the way they preferred and then headed to Lisa's departure gate.

The sun was just rising when they commandeered two seats in front of a row of windows looking out at the tarmac. There were quite a few people there, some clearly students going back home like her, some businessmen and the others various ages – mostly families probably flying home for Christmas. Lisa finished surveying the waiting area, and turned her gaze to Greg. He had been quiet for most of the car ride, talking with her only to get the directions and gate information; at first, the silence was his residual sleepiness, then it became clear he had retreated into himself.

She studied his profile wondering what he was thinking as he stared out at the tarmac. Her eyes traced over the pock mark on the side of his nose, the length of his lashes and lingered thoughtfully at his mouth. She had been so intent on him that she had not registered he was staring at her; when she did she felt a slight flush color her cheeks, partially at being caught, but mostly at the intensity of his gaze.

"I'm going to miss you." He said simply.

Lisa nodded her head in acknowledgement, but did not say anything. She lowered her eyes to her coffee, and lifted it taking a long sip.

Greg bent down and retrieved his bag of donuts, pulling one out and turning his gaze back out the window as he devoured the pastry. He was reaching into the bag for the remaining donut, when Lisa's hand entwined with his free one. He looked down at their hands, lightly tightening his grip as he continued to eat and enjoying the rhythm of her thumb running soothingly back and forth along his palm.

The first boarding call crackled out not too long after he finished eating, but they continued to sit in silence communicating through the pressure and slide of their hands. When the final boarding call was announced, Greg slid his hand out of hers, running his fingers along her palm, and encircling her wrist as he tugged her towards him. His other hand came up and slid around her neck, cupping it tightly as he his lips covered hers. Her mouth opened immediately and she leaned into him, her hands coming up and grasping his t-shirt as her tongue slid over his.

When Greg felt the intensity pick up, he pulled back, ending the kiss, and ran his tongue across lower lip as he stared down at Lisa. She lifted her hands to his face, cupping his cheeks and pressed two short, forceful kisses to his lips. "I'll miss you too." She said emphatically, letting him go and standing quickly to gather her things.

When she had everything, they walked to the gate door, his hand on the small of her back and her shoulder bumping into him. She leaned into him, pressing into his hand, before stepping away to give her ticket to the flight attendant at the gate. They stepped over to the side, she sat down her carry on, and they communicated with their eyes what they were afraid to say or did not want to say out loud.

Lisa closed the distance between them wrapping her arms around Greg in a quick hug and whispered goodbye. She felt his hand run across the back of her head, his fingers pressing into her scalp in their own form of a silent goodbye before they threaded through her hair. She released him, and this time when she stepped back she retrieved her bag and made her way through the door and down the tunnel to her plane.

She turned halfway down the long passageway to look back. She was happy to see that he was still there, but she made a face at him, tempering it with a smile, in response to the fact that he was blatantly staring at her backside before she continued towards the plane. He grinned at her, shrugging as if to say 'can you blame me?' as he crossed his eyes and stuck out his tongue. He tilted his head back to the side, when she turned around and watched her until they closed the door.


	12. Chapter 12

Greg was lying in the bed, atop the covers staring at the ceiling. His arms were crossed under his head and his legs slightly spread. It was Christmas. His mom had called earlier that afternoon to wish him a happy holiday and to ask if he had received the packages she had sent. He wished her the same, confirming he had received the gifts and thanking her for the. He then spoke briefly with his father before hanging up. That was four hours ago, it was now early evening and he had been lying in the bed ever since.

Sighing, he rolled onto his side and sat up, pushing himself off the bed and making his way to the bathroom. He showered quickly and wrapped a towel around his waist before heading to the living room. He walked over to the television, flicking it on and picked up the tape he had purchased a couple of days ago, _A Christmas Story_. He pushed the tape into the vcr and pressed play, then walked back over to the couch and flopped down, the towel sliding a bit as he settled his feet on the arm and began watching the movie.

An hour and a half later, as the credits rolled, Greg smiled to himself thinking that watching this movie was definitely going to become a Christmas tradition for him. He went into the bedroom and rummaged through his dresser, pulling out boxers a pair of jeans and a hunter green long sleeve button up his mom had given him last year. His stomach rumbling reminded him that he had not eaten since the bowl of cereal he had earlier in the day.

In the kitchen, he turned on the oven. After opening the freezer, he pulled down two Hungry Man frozen dinners. He stood holding the door open with his shoulder, while he contemplated which one he wanted. Deciding the turkey dinner seemed more like a holiday meal, he tossed the other box back into the freezer. Opening the one in his hand, he threw the packaging in the garbage and placed the tray in the center of the oven rack.

He walked back over to the fridge and pulled out a beer, popping off the cap and tossing it into the trash before making his way back into the living room. He turned on the power and reset the needle on the record that was already on the turntable; the opening track of Crosby's _Merry Christmas _filling the apartment as he came to a stop in front of the television. He reached down to plug in the strand of Christmas lights that he had strung around the television stand, before he turned off the console. He sat back down on the couch, propping his feet up on the coffee table and sipping at his beer. It was already dark out and there was something melancholy and enjoyable about the, calmness of the carols and the glow of the multicolored lights.

His mother had loved Christmas; she went all out for the holiday, lights and music (always Crosby), stockings hanging and always a huge tree. She told him once that her favorite part was the tree, the scent of pine reminding her of her childhood in Maine. He took a long drink of beer, his eyes squinting as he tried to remember the last time he had spent Christmas at home. It had been when he was sixteen. He was gone the next year; in his rush to get out of his father's home, he tested out of a year of high school. He finished at seventeen and headed off to college that fall, never looking back.

He missed it though. It was the one time of the year that his father was not a complete asshole and his mother was the happiest you would see her. He just did not miss it enough to break his vow to never to step foot in that man's house again.

He finished his beer and was toying with the wrapper on the bottle, when he remembered his dinner. He hopped up and went back into the kitchen, tossing the bottle in the sink and opening the oven. The meal was bubbling, but he was just in time to save it from being burnt, not that that would have stopped him from eating it. He used a pot holder to pull out the tray, setting it on the oven to let it cool.

He reached over to turn off the oven before getting another beer. He pried off the top, pulling open a drawer with his free hand and taking out utensils. He set the beer and utensils on the counter and went down the hall to use the bathroom. Finishing up, he washed his hands and went back into the kitchen.

Tapping at the tray, he determined it had cooled enough and grasping the edge he drug it onto the countertop. He picked up the fork and knife and began eating his meal, taking the occasional sip of beer to wash down some of the larger mouthfuls. When he finished, he tossed the utensils into the sink and the tray in the trash. Picking up the rest of the beer, he walked out of the kitchen, turning off the light, and back into the living room to settle back on the couch.

The only light in the apartment came from the string of Christmas lights and the record was still playing. It was almost eight o'clock and Lisa would be calling soon. His eyes shifted to the silvery packages sitting on his coffee table as he remembered their conversation earlier that week. They had talked for almost an hour and she told him she would call him today after her parents went to bed, which was usually around ten o'clock her time. Greg rested his head against the back of the couch and lulled by the nostalgia of the holiday songs and the warmth of the room he promptly fell asleep.

Lisa's parents finally went to bed at a quarter past eleven; she had not expected them to stay up so late, but with both her and her sister home they had been inclined to linger over wine and catching up with their daughters. She did not mind, she loved her family, but she was also eager to call Greg. Her sister caught her eye, and taking pity on her, her claim that she was tired and ready to turn in for the night started a domino effect with her parents. Lisa hugged her sister gratefully before heading to her room, turning to stick her tongue out when she was mockingly told to wish _Greg _a 'Merry Christmas'.

Once in her bedroom, Lisa settled cross legged on her bed and lifted the phone receiver to dial Greg's number. She cradled the phone between her shoulder and neck, reaching out to pick up her present and placing it in her lap. She shifted the phone to her other ear, holding it with her left hand and listening to it continue ringing. She was surprised when the answering machine picked up; she had not considered that Greg might not pick up.

There was a pause before she began to leave a message, her voice registering her disappointment. She was abruptly cut off when an anxious and slightly breathless Greg spoke into the phone, "Lisa?" He asked.

"Hey! I was leaving a message..." She trailed off through a smile.

"I heard..." He replied, stopping when his voice echoed through the answering machine. He began pressing buttons to shut it off. "Sorry. Hold on a second." He instructed, cradling the phone in his neck and focusing on the machine.

Lisa listened to him cussing at the machine for a couple of minutes. Finally, she heard a beep signaling it had stopped recording. Then there were muffled sounds that she assumed was Greg moving to settle on the couch, since she heard a distinct thunk that was made by a phone base being settled somewhere else.

"Sorry about that." He excused the interruption. "I guess I fell asleep." He admitted softly into the phone, his voice still a bit raspy from just waking up.

"It's okay. It's later than I said I would call..." She responded apologetically, pausing to bite her lip, "So how was your day?" She enquired. She had thought of him frequently imagining him alone and brooding in his apartment, "Merry Christmas, by the way."

"Normally, I'd be up. I guess I was just tired." He paused before answering her question, thinking about today, "It was... it was like almost every Christmas I've had since I left home." He answered noncommittally.

"Oh." From his deflection she assumed that meant it was probably as depressing as she imagined, and that made her feel sad for him. "Well that's going to change soon because none of those other Christmases had presents from me." Lisa pointed out her voice lilting happily.

"True." Greg responded, leaning forward and picking up his presents from the coffee table. "So which one should I open first?" He asked eagerly.

"Whoa. Who said you get to go first?" She challenged, "I only have one present, so_ I _should get to go first." She argued, fingering the package in her lap.

"But you're Jewish and this is _Christ_mas not _Jewish_mas. So I should go first." He retorted, as he shifted the phone to his other hand.

Lisa rolled her eyes, "You are so far from being a _Christ_ian that I'm not even acknowledging that argument." She huffed.

Greg was undeterred, coming back with a new approach, "But what do you know about opening presents? I've had years and years of practice. I should go first so you know how it's done." He cajoled.

"We give presents for Hanukkah too, Greg. I'm sure you know that." Lisa replied unconvinced.

"Yes, but not _Christmas_ presents." He pointed out in a tone that clearly showed he was not going to let his argument go until he got his way.

"Fine." Lisa conceded, wanting to get to the gift unwrapping. "You're also obviously more of a child too, so I guess it's even more appropriate that little Greggy-weggie get to open his gifts first." She finished mockingly.

"Nice." Greg said smiling, but uncaring since he had won. "So which one should I open first?" He asked referring to the gifts in his lap.

"The smaller one." Lisa advised immediately, leaning back on one arm and holding her breath as she waited for him to unwrap the gift.

"Okay." Greg replied, cradling the phone on his shoulder as he ripped open the smaller package. He threw the paper to the floor and rubbed his hand over the dark wooden box he now held, lightly fingering the engraving of the rod of Aesculapius. He opened the lid and inside, resting against burnt orange colored velvet, were a pair of dark colored Baoding balls.

Greg chuckled, lifting the balls out of the case and setting it aside, "You got me a pair of _blue balls_?" He asked amusedly.

Lisa smirked knowing the subtext of the color she chose would not be lost on him, "I got you those the first time you met me." She teased, "But I got you _these_ because your hands are never idle and they're great for musicians. They'll also help to center and focus you whenever you're working out whatever you find yourself puzzling over." She told him helpfully.

Greg began rolling the balls in his right hand, slowly at first as he learned the rhythm of them and got comfortable with the way they felt in his hand. He liked the clicking sound and the coolness and weight of them. "Thank you." He said genuinely grateful.

"You're welcome." Lisa replied softly, happy he liked them. "Now, open the other one!" She insisted.

"It's gonna take me a minute; I only have one hand free, the other one is playing with my balls." He said lecherously, picking the other gift up and settling it in his lap before awkwardly working off the wrapping with his left hand.

"Then it shouldn't even take a minute because it's not like you'll be able to last that long," she retorted cheekily.

Greg paused his unwrapping, "That is so untrue. You know for a _fact _that's untrue." He defended himself.

"Do I?" Lisa enquired evenly.

"Yes, you do." Greg responded tightly, his voice slightly husky as images of her straddling him flooded his head.

Lisa nodded feeling herself flush at the tone of his voice, "Maybe I know a little bit," She conceded.

The line fell silent except for their breathing and the sounds of Greg unwrapping the present the rest of the way. There was a long pause before he spoke into the phone, "You got me a cookbook. A _vegetarian_ cookbook?" He asked slightly bewildered as he flipped it open with one hand and skimmed through the pages.

"Yep. I guess this is more for me than you, but I noticed you had some other cookbooks on your shelves and since I know one day you're going to want to make dinner to impress the pants off of me, I thought I'd save you the trouble of buying this yourself." She told him matter-of-factly.

"Well, Watson, I applaud your sleuthing skills." He retorted, "But you do realise that the presence of cookbooks doesn't actually mean I cook." He said in an attempt to burst her bubble.

"Well that _would be_ true, if they weren't well thumbed cookbooks. Which they were." She countered with a smirk.

"Alright, you got me." He grudgingly conceded, setting the book to the side. "Now, it's time for the best gift of the evening to get opened." He prodded her cheerily.

"Hey! My gifts were good." Lisa reprimanded, shifting forward on the bed and moving the phone to her other ear as she wasted no time opening his present and eagerly began peeling off the newspaper.

"They were," Greg said the appreciation clear in his voice. His eyes shifted to the balls, mesmerized by the Christmas lights reflecting off the glassy surface in twinkling sparks as he continued spinning them in his hand.

Lisa removed the last bit of paper and stared at the box in her hand. It was beautiful: multicolored woods forming an intricate pattern of color and shape around all sides. She shifted it in her hand feeling for the lid, stopping, her brow furrowed in surprise when she could not find one.

She stared at the box while lifting the phone to her ear, "You gave me a wooden block?" She asked confused.

"Nope. I gave you a Japanese puzzle box." He told her smirking at her confusion.

"A puzzle box?" She asked turning the box over in her hands.

"I got it as a kid when my dad was stationed in Japan." He revealed. "Anyway, it's twenty two steps to open it - took me a couple of days to figure out how. Once you crack it open though, you get your present." He enlightened her.

Lisa was a bit stunned when he told her that the box used to belong to him. She smiled at the thought of a young Greg working at figuring it out. Her amusement faded when what he said sunk in. "That's not fair." She whined. "You... Ugh! This is so not fair." She turned the box again still seeing no sign of how to begin opening it. "Well can I at least have a hint?" She asked resigned.

"You know what they say about life..." He teased and then responded to her query. "Sure. The second box opens in a manner completely different from the one you're holding."

"Second box!" She cried. "Nothing is ever simple with you is it?" She asked, brushing her hair back behind her ear and setting the wooden box on her nightstand, before lying down on her bed with a sigh.

"Nope." He responded honestly.

Lisa sighed into the phone and settled onto her pillow, listening contently to the sound of his breathing. Greg also took a moment to just enjoy feeling connected to her. Then he remembered that he had some news to share with her.

"So what are you doing for New Year's Eve?" He led off. "One of my lacrosse teammates asked me to drive him to the city a couple of days beforehand and I agreed. We'll be staying at his girlfriend's place." He finished nonchalantly, hiding his anticipation of her reaction.

Lisa shot up into a seated position, "Really!" She asked excitedly, "You're really going to be here? You're not just messing with me?" She accused.

"Well, no, I'm not going to be in Jersey, but I _am_ going to be in Brooklyn. You think your parents will let you come to the city?" He asked hesitantly, hoping she would be able to because the prospect of seeing her was the only reason he had agreed to make the trip.

"I'll actually already be there." She informed him. "I'm housesitting for my Uncle while he and his wife are in Costa Rica. They leave in two days and I'll be meeting them to get the keys and stuff. My best friend Kris is coming too." She paused and bit the inside of her lip, "The co-op is pretty big, so if you want to stay with us..." She offered, toying with the phone cord as she waited on his response.

The pleasure that filled him that he would see her in a couple of days, surprised him a little. He knew he was going to be happy if she said yes, but not this happy. It was something he acknowledged and would dissect later. "We're leaving on Friday too, after Jacob finishes his shift. We won't get in until early Saturday, so I can give you a call when I wake up and then drive over to your Uncles' or you guys can meet me in Brooklyn?" He accepted, picking up the box next to him and putting the balls back into their case.

"It's probably easier if you drive in – it's hard to get a cab to Brooklyn and the subway isn't the safest." She reminded him, thinking he probably did not worry about it as a guy. "We're meeting some friends at Dojo by NYU for brunch at one o'clock on Saturday. Why don't you just meet us at the restaurant?" She finished.

"Okay," He agreed getting off the couch and walking over to the phone stand. "What are the cross streets and your Uncle's information, in case I miss you there?" He asked, picking up a pen and flipping the message pad by his phone to a clean sheet.

He jotted down the information setting the pen down and looking at his watch. It was almost midnite, nearly one o'clock where she was and he had to get up early. "I have to get off of here; I have an article to write that's due the day after tomorrow." He told her regretfully. "Thanks for the cookbook and the balls, definitely for the balls. I always wanted a pair." He added cheekily.

Lisa sighed disappointed that the conversation was going to end, but it was late and she knew she would get tired soon. She rolled her eyes and ignored his last statement, "Thank you for the puzzle box and for whatever's inside." She responded just graciously.

There was another comfortable pause, neither one of them wanting to be the one who hung up the phone. After, a few minutes, Lisa finally broke the silence.

"I'll see you Saturday then." She said softly.

"Yeah. You'll see me Saturday." He responded his tone matching hers.

"Merry Christmas, Greg." Lisa said bidding him farewell.

"And to all a goodnight." Greg replied, holding out for a few more moments before hanging up the phone.


	13. Chapter 13

Greg was late. He arrived in Brooklyn at three o'clock that morning and managed to sleep until almost eleven. The combination of an uncomfortable couch and his anxiousness to see Lisa, however, woke him with a purpose and him in the shower and in his car headed to Manhattan in quick succession.

The BQE was clogged but he figured once he got to the bridge it would not be so bad. Unfortunately, when he got downtown he discovered one lane of the Brooklyn Bridge was closed. He decided to make his way over to the Manhattan Bridge rather than wait it out. That proved to be even more of a nightmare. By the time he navigated his way to Washington Square and found a parking spot, it was almost two o'clock.

Lisa glanced at her watch, noting an hour had passed since she and Kris had joined their friends for brunch. She kept shooting searching glances over her shoulder at the door and out the window opposite her, looking for Greg. When they arrived she was completely relaxed, giddy and super hungry. Now, she was getting anxious and picked at the remains of her half meal – a stack of blueberry pancakes, potatoes and a side of fruit. Kris leaned over and whispered for her to relax, saying Greg was probably caught in traffic or something and to remember that if he did not meet them here that he would be at her Uncle's later. Lisa gave her a half smile and tried to refocus on the conversation at the table.

Greg entered the restaurant pausing in the doorway to unwrap his scarf, letting it hang loosely around his neck as he slipped the beanie off his head and pocketing it. He stood just inside the entrance, briefly running a hand over his unruly curls as he scanned the tables looking for Lisa. A grin lit up his face when he spotted and he made his way over to her table.

Lisa's back was to him so she had not spotted him, but the redhead sitting next to her had. He held her gaze, lifting his index finger to his lips in a sign asking her not to give away his presence. She grinned slightly in acknowledgement and turned half her attention to the conversation and continued to watch his approach with the other half.

He was definitely cute; even from this distance, she could see his eyes were as intensely blue as Lisa had described – probably more so as she had thought her friend was just being melodramatic. He was not _her _type, but she could see why Lisa liked him. Having heard about him nonstop since their first meeting at a football game in November, she was intrigued to finally meet him – to feel out his suitability for her best friend.

Greg quietly made his way to the table. Coming to a stop directly behind Lisa, he placed his ice cold hands on either side of her neck, and leaned down to place a kiss against her warm cheek. She jumped when he made contact with her, instinctively moving away from the cold. When she realised it was Greg, she swatted at his hands turning and using his scarf to pull him towards her, her lips finding his mouth and planting a kiss on his cool lips. She pulled back, when her friends starting making gagging sounds around the table and whistling at them.

"Shut up," She admonished, her face flushing in embarrassment, "This is Greg." She continued, looking up as she pointed at him and then introducing the other people at the table.

Greg smirked at Lisa's obvious discomfort, nodding at each of the people as she said their name and reaching his hand across to Kris when Lisa introduced her, giving her a conspiratorial smile in thanks.

He pulled up a chair, settling it between Lisa and Kris and shrugged off his coat, hanging it on the back before sitting down. He looked over her shoulder, lifting his hand to get the attention of a waiter and ordered a coffee.

He immediately picked up the fork that rested on the plate and began finishing off Lisa's brunch. Lisa rolled her eyes at his lack of manners and shifted closer to him, resting her hand on his thigh. "Hungry?" She teased, lifting her coffee and taking a sip as she looked at him over the rim.

Greg swallowed his bite, "You have no idea." He replied, his tone slightly husky as he held her gaze. He reached over and took her cup from her, taking a sip and setting it back on the table.

He broke eye contact when Lisa smiled at him. "So Kris," he said turning towards her friend, "Any juicy gossip or embarrassing anecdotes you want to tell me about Lisa." He said treating her to his most charming smile.

Kris laughed at the look of outrage on her friend's face, and Greg flinched when Lisa tightened her grip warningly on his thigh. Noticing his discomfort, Kris leaned towards Greg with a smile of her own, "None that you can handle."

Greg gave her a look showing that he was pleased that she was just as willing to spar with him and also that she was not going to start divulging her private relationship with Lisa. He nodded his head in acknowledgement of this and she continued on.

"So are you usually this fashionably late or was there a reason you wanted to share with us?" She enquired, propping her elbow on the table and resting her chin on her hand.

"I am usually late, but this is excessive even for me." He responded leaning back as a server placed his coffee in front of him. "It was a nightmare getting here – one lane of the Brooklyn Bridge was closed and then I stupidly went to over to the Manhattan and that was worse and then traffic in Chinatown." He cut himself off with a shrug and a dismissive flick of his hand as he turned his attention back to the food in front of him.

"I told you he was stuck in traffic," Kris said victoriously, to Lisa.

Greg looked at the redhead, his mouth full and his eyebrows rising inquisitively.

"This one," Kris pointed at her friend, "Was ready to send out a search party; couldn't keep her eyes off the door." She informed him, scooting her plate closer to his. "Bacon?" She offered.

Greg's eyes lit up and he thanked her for the bacon, his hand reaching out and transferring the remaining pieces to his plate before he turned towards Lisa smiling, "Aww, were you worried about me?" He asked saccharinely sweet, lifting his free hand to cover his heart and fluttering his lashes.

"No." Lisa denied watching the end of exchange between her best friend and Greg, "And if this is how it's going to be between the two of you, I can tell you right now, it's not going to fly." She huffed.

They both looked at her their innocent expressions mirroring each other. The effect was amplified when they responded at the same time with a, "What did we do?" They turned to each other with a knowing smirk, Kris being the first to say, 'No Jinx.'

"Very funny." Lisa said blandly, absently picking up two sugar packets and pouring them into Greg's coffee, before giving it a quick stir. "So we need to do some shopping for our new year's outfits, then I figured we'd head back to my Uncle's house." She told the two of them.

Greg's hand paused midway to his mouth with a strip of bacon and his face scrunched up in disgust, "No. I never agreed to go shopping." He whined, setting the bacon back on the plate.

"Come on, Lise, you said we didn't have to do that until tomorrow. You promised today would be shopping free." Kris chorused in with him.

Lisa gave both of them a pointed look, "You guys are ridiculous." She then turned to deal with Greg first, "You will come because it means you get to see me try on a bunch of really sexy outfits and I know you're not going to resist that." She said lifting an eyebrow challenging him. He responded, by looking at Kris and shrugging as if to say 'Sorry, she's got me there.'

Turning to Kris she said, "_You_ will come because if we get it out of the way today, then tomorrow when you are surely hungover from whatever club you drag yourself home from tonite, you'll be happy that I'm not forcing you out of the bed to do this."

Kris considered this for a moment, "Okay," she conceded concluding her friend was right; she would not want to have to get up tomorrow and go shopping with a hangover.

Greg and Kris slumped down on the bench outside of the dressing rooms as Lisa walked in with another armload of clothes to try on. Lisa had been dragging them up and down Broadway for over two hours now. Greg was laded with bags, one holding the outfit that he had begrudgingly let her pick for him to wear on New Year's and the others holding various clothes and a several boxes of shoes. Kris had a couple of bags of her own, mostly t-shirts and jelly bracelets that she had picked up and a pair of tie die Converse that Greg had approved of and Lisa had rolled her eyes at.

"I spotted a Wendy's a few doors down." Kris whispered, "It's freezing cold, but I can't resist their frosties." She told him as she stood, glancing at the dressing room door as she bundled herself up, "You want anything?"

Greg responded gratefully, "Yes! Can you bring me back a chili, get an extra packet of crackers, and I'll have a frosty too." He shifted about digging in his pockets for cash, but Kris waved him off telling him he could fund the next pit stop since she knew they would be at this for a couple more hours at the least. He gave her a weary wave and focused his attention back on the dressing room door.

A few minutes later, he was rewarded by Lisa coming out in a light bluish grey sweater dress that hung off of one shoulder and stopped a couple of inches below her ass. It fit her perfectly – revealing every curve, but covering her completely.

"Nice." He complimented, eyeing her appreciatively and motioning with his hand for her to turn around. When she complied she was rewarded with an incredulous, "Oh my god!"

"So you like." She teased walking over to him and leaning in for a kiss as his hands closed around the backs of her knees, rubbing circles into her cool skin.

"This one has my vote for New Year's." He informed her, leaning his head back to look up at her an approving glint in his eye.

Lisa smiled down at him, then looked around the store questioningly, "Where's Kris?" She asked wondering about her friend's apparent absence.

"She couldn't take it anymore. I told her to run, save herself; that I would sacrifice myself to make sure she had a good enough head start to make it to freedom." Greg replied stoically.

"_Right,_" Lisa said drawing the word out, "I'm sure that's what happened. She probably went to the Wendy's down the street." She hypothesized as she stepped back from him. "If she comes back without a frosty for me, I'm taking yours." She informed him with a smug grin and walked back into the fitting room.

Three and a half hours later, Lisa parallel parked Greg's car in a spot a couple of blocks away from the brownstone where her Uncle lived. After extended tantrums from both of her companions, she had cut the shopping excursion short and rewarded them both by conceding to dinner at a restaurant in Curry hill. They rewarded her by convincing her to sample an incredibly hot dish after assuring her otherwise and then having a good laugh at her expense.

She was really happy that Kris and Greg got along. They were quite similar: intelligent and passionate, sort of loners with family issues and a tendency towards emotional extremes and moodiness; she had expected they would be kindred spirits. It was nice to be with a guy Kris was not constantly making fun of or insulting, not that she had not been sparring with Greg, but there seemed to be some understanding between them that she could not put her finger on.

They unpacked the car, and she led the way to the apartment. Keying them in and pausing at the front desk to get the mail and let the doorman know that Greg would be staying with them through New Year's and it was okay to let him up to the apartment if she was not there. They took the elevator to the top floor, exiting as she continued to lead the way. She let them in, turning on the lights and dropping the keys in the bowl at the entranceway.

The three of them stood in the foyer, having relieved themselves of their purchases, they took off their coats and various other winter gear hanging them up and removing their shoes.

Kris made her way to the bathroom after announcing she expected a drink to be waiting for her upon her return.

Greg followed Lisa as she gave him a quick tour, showing him the kitchen, the bathrooms, the guest room, the two main bedrooms, the laundry, dining room, study and ending in the living room. She had not been kidding when she said there was a lot of space – this was easily the biggest apartment he had ever been in in New York. He took in the rich leather furnishings, the high ceilings, framed art, nick knacks and oriental rugs before making his way over to the window and looking out at the view. He was not bothered by the obvious wealth, he had been around it before, but it did make him wonder about Lisa's background.

He stood at the window for several moments, looking down at that the few pedestrians traversing the snow lined streets and the white Christmas lights that tastefully dotted nearly every facade on the block. He sensed Lisa coming up behind him and leaned into her embrace when he felt her arms come around his waist, her body pressing into his and her head coming to rest on his back. He moved his hands down to cover over hers, rubbing his thumb across her knuckles.

"Hey." She mumbled into his shirt.

"Hey." He replied.

They stood that way for a few moments, until Greg stepped forward breaking the embrace briefly as he turned and pulled her into his arms. Looking down at her, his hands came up and he moved the hair out of her face, settling his hands against her cheek. Her hands lifted, landing on his chest, her fingers spreading and palms resting above his heart.

He leaned down pressing a gentle kiss to her lips, moving back and locking his eyes with hers before expelling a breath and moving his hands to her jaw and slowly rubbed his thumbs across her cheekbones. He released her face as the kiss deepened moving his hands to cup her ass kneading it, and pressing her body into his.

"I'm coming in there now," Kris yelled from the hallway causing Lisa to jump, "And I don't want to see anything above a g-rating so you kids better part like the Red sea." She finished her voice loudest as she walked into the living room, giving them a knowing glance as Lisa's head settled onto Greg's chest when she came into the room, and his hands moved to safer territory.

"So you strike me as a beer drinker or a Scotch boy." Kris said giving Greg an assessing look, as she walked over to the liquor cabinet and pulled down three glasses, two for whiskey and one for a martini. "Lisa's always been into the girly stuff." She said, picking up the vodka and beginning to make a cosmopolitan for her best friend. "We're going to have Irish whiskey tonight." She informed Greg pointing between the two of them.

Lisa and Greg parted and he settled on the couch as Kris made them drinks and Lisa went to the kitchen to get something to snack on.

Kris walked over to the couch balancing the three glasses in her hand. Greg took his glass of whiskey and she sat Lisa's cosmopolitan on the coffee table.

She settled in the chair opposite him and lifted her glass, extending it towards him to clink the crystal together, "To Lisa." She said quietly her eyes focused on Greg.

"To Lisa," He reaffirmed and they both took sips, appreciating the woody flavor, before the liquid burned down their throats.

Kris cupped the glass between her palms, resting it in her lap and turned her attention to Greg, "It's rare that anything breaks her focus, especially a guy." She spoke seriously, "So I know this means _something _to her or you wouldn't be here. All I want is her happiness and you have been given a chance and a gift, in that she wants you to share that with her."

She paused, and he stayed silent, her eyes squinting as she studied him, "I can tell you have the potential to screw it up badly." She mused, watching him just as calmly as he watched her, "But if you hurt her, I'll be the one picking up the pieces and when I've fixed her as best as I can, I'll find you and hurt you back tenfold." She told him, finishing off her glass and sitting it on the table.

Greg nodded in acknowledgement of her right; she was marking territory that had belonged to her since childhood and he respected that. He would have done the same. "I know. She's..." He shrugged, a slight smile on his face and obvious adoration briefly visible in his eyes speaking for her him before he masked his emotions and continued. "If that's what it comes to... you should know, it's not what I intended." He said somberly pausing to finish drink. "I'm sure I would welcome your wrath." He admitted honestly.

His eyes momentarily showed a depth of sadness and self deprecation that made Kris hurt for him – he was alone in this world. Part of her resolved to be there for him too, not at the expense of her friendship, but in those moments she knew he would need someone. She worried about the emotional harm that he could do to himself and to Lisa. They both seemed happy now, however, and despite her words, she saw happiness in her that she had never seen before and it was mirrored in Greg today when she watched him watching Lisa, unaware he was being scrutinized. Despite her words, she wanted to give Lisa, to give them, a chance to discover what this could become.

They sat in silence, listening to the sounds of Lisa rummaging around in the kitchen and the grandfather clock ticking away in the corner. The moment for gravity passed, Kris picked up both of their empty glasses and carried them to the counter for a refill.


	14. Chapter 14

**This chapter is rated: M**

* * *

><p>Two hours later, Kris left them to go out with a group of friends from college. She took Lisa's key, promising to be back late and playfully admonishing them not to do anything she would not do.<p>

Within minutes of closing the door and locking it behind her, Lisa and Greg were clumsily making their way down the hall to the bedroom. When they passed through the threshold, Lisa broke from their embrace shutting the door behind them. She came back to Greg and slipped her hands under his shirt running them over his abdomen as they engaged in another eager kiss and she guided him back towards the bed. When his legs came into contact with the edge of the bed, Lisa pushed him down and stepped out of his embrace.

"What?" He opened his eyes, reaching for her only to have her step further away. "What's wrong?" He asked furrowing his brow in confusion.

"Nothing. I have a surprise for you." She smiled at him mischievously, "Stay right here while I change." She instructed, pointing at him with her index finger and then heading to the bathroom.

Greg looked at her dumbfounded, but nodded in acceptance. While waiting for her to return, he busied himself with taking in his current surroundings. The room was a mix of masculine and feminine. It was sparsely furnished, but the items in it were large. The color scheme was subdued – a mix of oatmeal, ivory and teak. The bed was a king sized sleigh bed with slats in the headboard. He raised a brow chuckling to himself when his eyes fell on the massive full length mirror leaning on a wall across from the end of the bed.

Lisa came out of the bathroom ten minutes later, holding the Japanese puzzle box and wearing way more clothes than she went in there with.

Greg gave her a quizzical look as he shifted on the bed and took in this new development. He watched as she walked over to him and dropped the box in his lap, moving back out of his reach and facing him, the smile on her face anything, but sweet.

"I am wearing exactly twenty-two items of clothing and accessories." She informed him, "For every step you complete towards opening that," She pointed towards the box in his lap, "I will remove a piece – solely at my discretion. Once you've completed all twenty-two steps, you'll get your _present _and I'll get mine." She told him smugly.

The smile on Greg's face grew exponentially as he listened to her. "This is devious, verges on blackmail and it's super kinky. I like it." He retorted his voice thick with admiration and lust.

"I thought you would." She said tilting her head to the side and flashing him a playful grin.

In the time that it took her to reply, he had already completed five steps on the first box. He told her so and rolled his eyes as he watched her take off the bangles on her wrist.

"Please," She scoffed, "You couldn't possibly think I'd start with anything more revealing."

"What would be the fun in that?" He replied, his focus back on completing the first box. He finished it in a matter of minutes, pulling out the inner box and setting the larger one to the side. He lifted the smaller box, presenting it towards her, "This one has four steps, so start stripping." He commanded, leaning back on one hand and spinning the box as he watched her remove most of her remaining clothes.

Not one to be out done, Lisa made a show of it; playfully tugging off her socks and throwing a few of the outer layers at him, which he caught. He hooted encouragements that had her blushing and at one point loudly hummed _The Stripper_. Finally down to her final four garments, a white tank top, dark blue cotton shorts and her bra and panties, she crossed one foot over the other, doing the same with her arms in a manner she knew did wonders for her breasts and raised her brow challengingly at him.

Greg engaged in a staring match with her, his eyes never leaving hers as his hands worked through the last steps of the puzzle box. He reached his fingers into the compartment, only to look down shocked to feel nothing but air. What the fuck, he thought to himself as he was met with an empty box.

"Looking for this?" Lisa asked sweetly, holding her left hand aloft and dangling the car key that had been his gift to her.

Greg looked up momentarily dumbfounded. "Nice." He finally said, dropping the box on the bed and applauding her. "If you already had it, what was all this about?" He asked motioning at the clothes on the floor.

Lisa curtsied at his applause. "_This_, was just about fun and messing with you." She said smiling at him. "Thank you." She said, sobering up and referring to the key, which she laid on the bedside table, before closing the space between them. "I think I owe you four more pieces of clothing."

"You're welcome," He said sincerely, his hands coming up to rest on her waist, "Allow me," He offered, slipping his hand under her tank top and tugging it off.

Greg pulled Lisa between his legs, running a row of kisses across her newly exposed flesh. She clasped the hem of his shirt pulling it off his body and tossing it to the floor, before pressing her palms to his stomach. She ran her fingers up to his collarbone as he grazed his fingers along her sides, bumping over her ribs until his hands came to rest beneath her breasts, cupping their weight and gently pressing into the softness.

Lisa felt her muscles tense at his touch and she moved her hands up to brush across his face as she looked into his thickly lashed blue eyes and leaned down to press a soft kiss to his lips. She felt his hands grip into her flesh as they pulled her body closer to his. The sudden forward motion threw her off balance and she fell forward; her legs coming up and straddling him causing them to fall backwards onto the bed never breaking the kiss.

Her tongue slid into his waiting mouth and his hands slid up her spine, finding the hook on her bra and releasing it. She broke the kiss setting up and crossing her arms across the front of her bra and holding it in place looking down at Greg with a teasing smirk.

"Say please," she directed breathily.

Greg sat up quickly, grabbing her and rolling her onto her back, her arms shooting out and wrapping around his back trapping the bra between them. "Never," he replied.

The skin of their stomachs rubbed smoothly against one another as he began kissing her again, his tongue dueling with hers and sucking hard to get all of the taste of her. When the kiss ended, he trailed his lips along the side of her mouth and across her jaw, following a path down her neck and stopping to lap at the indent between her collarbones.

He felt her hands tracing patterns along his back and up his arms as he began to gently bite his way down her chest, his mouth stopping as he encountered the silk of her bra. Using his nose, he nudged the garment down and kissed the top slope of her left breast. He took the silk into his mouth and pulled it down further to reveal her erect nipple; his tongue came out, tracing the nub and gently sucking it into his mouth as his hand came up, sliding beneath the smooth fabric to rub the underside of her breast, as his mouth moved to her other breast.

Lisa arched into his mouth, her hands moving to the back of his head holding him in place as her leg came up between his to press against his erection. He lifted off of her removing her bra and sling-shotting it across the room. She chuckled at him lifting her hands up to play with the coarse hair at his navel, the beginning of an enticing trail that was cut off by the denim of his jeans.

He was now straddling her, one leg beside her and the other wedged between her legs. He closed his eyes for a few moments, enjoying the way her thigh was rubbing against him. He opened his eyes and looked down at her: her hair fanning out on the bed in waves of dark brown curls, her body flushed and the grey of her eyes almost fully dilated out.

"God, Lisa, I..." He trailed off overwhelmed by his feelings for her.

He planted his hands on her stomach, massaging her abdomen briefly before passing over her ribs and cupping her full, creamy breasts. He began kneading them as he bent down so that his mouth could devour hers in a slightly needy kiss. He rubbed his tongue along the slit of her mouth requesting entrance as her hands came up and her fingers dragged across his cheekbones, forging a path to his ears and swirling around to his lobes. He shifted moving her leg from between his and planting himself between her thighs.

They began rubbing against each other urgently as their kisses became more frantic and a little clumsy. He finally pulled back, pushing her into the center of the bed and reaching to pull off her shorts, at the same time he let himself off the side of the bed. He traced his fingers along her legs as he glided the shorts down them and finally pulled them off her body. She lifted her butt off the bed to help him and shifted back towards the headboard. Removing her panties, she tossed them at Greg's head as he bent to rid himself of his last remaining items of cloth

Greg felt something hit him and looked up in time to see the scrap of fabric fall to the floor. His gaze shot to hers a smile filling his face as he kicked out of the rest of his clothes and joined her on the bed. She reached her hands out to grab his arms and pull him on top of her as he settled between her legs. Her knees came up beside his body and she ran her feet over the tops of his thighs and down his calves as she held him close. He propped himself up on his arms, the veins popping a little as he hovered over smiling as he leaned down and kissed her grinning lips.

He could feel her wetness on his stomach and he was shifting himself into position to move into her when he remembered that they needed a condom.

"Shit!" He growled stopping himself, and pulling away, his body trembling from the force it took.

"What? What's wrong?" She asked confused when she felt him pulling back, and tightening her legs around him to hold him in place.

"We need a condom." He said beginning to push against her hold, so he could pull away from while he still had enough control.

"Oh." She sighed out relieved that was the problem, as much as she was sure he did not want to be a father, a kid did not fit her life plan right now either. "It's okay, I'm on the pill." There was a pause before she continued, "But, umm...are you clean?" She asked hesitantly; she felt a little uncomfortable asking, but he had been linked with a lot of girls – she had even called him on it – and though this was probably the worst possible timing to have this discussion, she needed to know.

"Yes." He said emphatically, taking in a ragged breath. "I've seen on a first hand basis all the shit that's out there and I make every effort to protect myself and the people I'm with." He sighed placing his forehead on hers. "I got tested a month ago and I'm fine. Are you..." He trailed off looking at her questioningly.

She nodded her head. "I haven't been with anyone in awhile, but I did get tested about three months ago and there was nothing wrong." She assured him.

"Okay." He responded before unleashing a fit of laughter, "Well this was sort of a moodkill, don't you think?"

She laughed with him, "Yeah." She agreed before shifting her body closer to his, "Let's see what we can do to change that," she whispered moving her hands from his hips to his shoulders and tugging him towards her.

Greg groaned, as she lifted up off the bed and rubbed her body against him and at the same time she engaged him in a long teasing kiss. His hands pushed into her hair clenching against her scalp as their tongues met, and teeth nipped at the sensitive skin of each others' lips. She captured his lower lip between hers, sucking on it and biting into the wet flesh until she tasted the salty mercury of his blood. He pulled back, running his tongue across the wound and staring down at her mouth as her lips moved into a feral smile, his mouth twisting into an appreciative grin before she pulled him back into another kiss.

He reached between their bodies, his hand coasting over her abdomen, to find the silky hairs between her thighs. He ran his fingers through them, before lightly fingering her clit. He then lowered his hand, dipping it between her folds and searching for the proof that she was ready for him. He fingered her for several minutes, swallowing her moans and loving the way her body spasmed and pressed into his as his erection twitched against her thighs.

He pushed himself up, shifting into position between her thighs and looking at her with and intense gaze. She slid her hands up his sides, moving them under his arms and resting then on his upper back as she looked back at him. He had never wanted anyone more than he wanted her in that moment.

"Ready?" He breathed.

"Are you?" She replied huskily.

He smiled down at her and then moved the head of his penis to her opening. Never taking his eyes off her, he used his hand to grasp himself and rubbed his head in the wetness of her crease before moving the tip into her vagina. Her cheeks flushed and her eyes closed as he pushed himself inside her body. He felt her muscles clamp tightly around him as he moved fully into her, bending forward to drink in the gasp that escaped from her lips.

He had never had sex without a condom before and the sensations were overwhelming – he could feel the soft tissues caressing every inch of him and the wet walls felt hot and silky as he pulsated inside of her. He pulled back, sliding easily as he began slowly moving in and out of her.

She was overwhelmed at how amazing it felt to have him inside of her – when he had first pushed into her, her entire body clenched; an electric tremor starting at the base of her spine and radiating through her causing her breathe to catch in her throat. They quickly found a rhythm, moving in sync for several minutes. Her hands running lovingly over his body as they engaged in several slow kisses. He peppered her neck with another trail of kisses and lifted a hand to run across her collar bone.

Lisa loved the feel of him everywhere; it was making her body grow impatient for more and she moved her hands to his lower back arching into him, one leg moving up along his side and the other slinking down along his calf to anchor herself at his ankle - the position opening her legs wider and allowing him to go further into her body.

"Harder." She directed him, lifting her pelvis to meet his next thrust encouragingly.

"Mmnh," Greg responded, wrapping his hand around the calf of the leg along his side and hooking it over his arm. He angled her leg towards her head, and her foot came to rest on his back as he heeded her request.

Sweat was beginning to coat their bodies and the room filled with the rhythmic sounds of flesh slapping against flesh, deep panting breathes, grunts and the liquid squish of the fluids that coated his penis and that flowed from her vagina which allowed him to rapidly slide in and out of her. He slid his hand around one of the slats in the headboard gripping it for leverage and the bed creaked as it methodically bumped against the wall under the force of their combined thrusts.

Lisa felt her body tense up as she neared orgasm and she grabbed at Greg's head pulling him down into a sloppily desperate kiss.

"Come on Lisa." He urged, his face moving to the side of her neck as he turned to whisper encouragement into her ear. He firmly planted his feet, shifting slightly as he continued to move in and out of her.

"Oh!" She exclaimed. "_There._" She pleaded, his slight shift having moved him to a position that more accurately rubbed her g spot. She could barely get in the air to tell him what she needed and soon her focus turned to directing her body to achieve one goal.

"I love the way you feel." He gasped "You're so damn tight – so good, Lisa." He moved more firmly, pumping with more intention now that he knew he was hitting the right spot.

"_Fuck!_" She grunted her body lifting and her leg pressing into his ankle, her fingers digging into the skin of his lower back.

"God, Lisa, You're so hot and wet. You're so beautiful." He whispered against her ear, his tongue tracing the lobe and gently biting it as he continued moving. "Come on Lisa, let go for me."

"Uhh!" Lisa pushed out gratefully as she felt her body tip over the edge, her back arching off the bed and her muscles involuntarily gripping in caressing waves over his penis as she pumped into him. Her nails released him and a burst of euphoria spread through her body before she collapsed back onto the bed her entire being spent.

She lay with a contented smile, her eyes closed, as Greg's hands came up to push back the sweaty tendrils of hair that clung to her cheeks. He began pressing light kisses to her temple and the side of her face before shifting a little to lick the salty sweat from the indent at the top of her lip, gently kissing her and nipping at her mouth. After a few minutes, she became aware that he was still hard inside her and she opened her eyes, moving her hands to his lower back and looking up at him.

"Now, I want you to let go for me." She said, lifting up and nipping at his chin as she pressed her pelvis into him urging him to begin moving again.

He moved his mouth down to hers in an open mouthed kiss and quickly resumed their previous rhythm. He shifted, using his arms to grasp both of her legs and pulling them up to wrap around his waist. He pressed his hands into the bed as she wrapped her arms around him pressing her breasts into his chest and moving her face into the side of his neck.

An hour later, he was riding her hard, the wood of the headboard attesting to this as it smacked loudly and rapidly against the wall. His grunts mingled with her deep pants as she kept up with the urgency of his body, her mouth mumbling encouragement at his ear.

"_Lisa,_" he whispered his entire body tensing as he came inside of her. He pushed his arms under her and pulled her into a tight hold as he felt her inner muscles milking his penis while he continued to squirt liquid warmth into her vagina, his body trembling through his last few pumps. Lisa had turned her face into his neck and was sucking hard at the skin above his pulse as he came. She released his neck and he kept his eyes closed as pressed his face into the side of her neck and tried to regulate his breathing. He pulled his arms out from under her and ran his palms along the backs of her thighs as she turned her head to the side to catch her breathe.

They lay that way for several minutes basking in the afterglow, running their fingers along each others skin with feather light touches that glided easily in the sheen of sweat that glistened over their bodies.

Greg moved first, grabbing hold of her and shifting onto his back, their bodies still joined as he settled into a comfortable position with her splayed on top of him. She protested the shift, missing the weight and warmth of him on top of her body. Crossing her arms on his chest, she propped her chin atop them and smiled down at him.

"I really like you a lot." He told her, his hand lifting and playing with her hair as he smiled up at her.

"Yeah?" Lisa asked with a smile, "I hadn't noticed." She said, her fingertip dusting over his chin and lightly tracing his jawline.

His hands reached up to cup her face as he looked searchingly into her grey eyes, "You make me feel _something. _I've never felt this before... I don't know what it means or where this is going and I don't know how to make promises to you – maybe I don't even want to do that, but it has never been like this." He confessed in a rush of emotion that he could not contain.

She uncrossed her arms and brought her hands up to cover his on her face, looking at him as he spoke to her. Her breath caught at his words and she felt the slight sting of tears at the backs of her eyes, but she blinked them away. She took his hand, threading her fingers with his and brought it to her mouth kissing the center of his palm.

"Same. I..." She answered, pausing to search for the words, "It's never been this way for me either. I don't need promises. I can't make them to you either. I... I don't want to put more pressure on this; it's already so overwhelming." She pleaded her voice tense with the same emotion.

Greg nodded, pulling her down into a kiss before moving her head onto the side of his neck and rubbing his hands over her arms and her back. They lay silently for several moments.

"We should probably clean up and get some sleep." Greg suggested.

"Mmm." Lisa sighed into his neck in agreement. She squeezed her arms around him briefly before pushing herself up and climbing out of the bed. Her legs were slightly wobbly and he chuckled at her as she stretched, taking a moment to gain her balance. She gave him a dirty look when he laughed, leaning over and pinching his hip and smirking when he yelped. She turned and ran towards the bathroom when he leapt out of bed and chased after her.

They cleaned up quickly, stopping briefly to make out against the double sink. He had lifted her onto the cold marble counter in retaliation for flicking him with water after she washed her face; she had wrapped her legs around him, pulling him forward and cradling him between her thighs and into a kiss that quickly caused him to forget he wanted to get back at her. They finally parted, Lisa slipping off of the counter and following him out of the room, turning off the bathroom lights and making their way back to the bed, where she shut off the overhead lights before climbing into bed with him and shutting off the bedside lamp. They wrapped themselves around each other and soon fell asleep.

They slept soundly for a couple of hours before Greg gently woke Lisa by trailing kisses along her spine. He massaged her stomach and flipped her over biting a trail down her torso before going down on her, pulling her on top of him after she recovered from her climax. He gripped her ass letting her guide them in what became a slow lovemaking session. When she finally collapsed on top of him, he let her catch her breath before engaging in a deep kiss and then he he shifted her body so that he was spooning her, sliding back into her and slowly pumping in and out until he could not hold back and was gripping her hard, one arm clasped across her breasts and the other digging into her thigh as he buried his face in her shoulder and climaxed for the second time that night.

She craned her head back, giving him an awkward kiss. After the kiss ended, Greg pulled the covers back over their bodies, shifting Lisa so that she was resting atop him and wrapping his arms around her lower back. She pressed a lazily path of kisses along his shoulder and then back along his jaw before settling her face alongside his neck. He rubbed his hands over her entire body, finally settling on her upper thighs and let the gentle up and down of her breathing lull them both to sleep.


	15. Chapter 15

"Good Morning." Greg whispered into Lisa's ear as he started kissing a path along the back of her right shoulder, his hands moving around to cup her breasts.

Lisa slowly arched back, her body angling into the warmth behind her as Greg's lips grazed the side of her neck. She slid against him, pressing her ass into his pelvis as his hands shifted down and rubbed along her thigh before sliding across her hipbone and finally fanning out across her abdomen where they settled to trace lazy circles on her stomach.

"Mmmh." Lisa moaned, pushing her legs between his as she stretched.

"You feel nice." He mumbled against her skin. "Did you sleep okay?" Greg asked, pushing lightly at her back to get her to turn towards him.

"Like a baby." Lisa answered as she shifted around to face him a contented smile on her face.

"Better than me then; I was kept up by the loudest snoring I've ev-"

Lisa smacked Greg on the arm, "Hey! I do not snore." She defended.

"Yeah you do; it's actually kind of cute." He teased, lifting a finger and tapping her nose.

She batted away his hand and glared at him, "I. Do. Not. Snore."

"Fine, you don't snore." Greg shrugged, "That was somebody else playing a symphony with their nostrils."

"Whatever." She rolled her eyes, lightly digging her nails into him before running her hands up his back. She looked up into his smiling blue eyes, "So... do you want to keep spouting lies or do you want to employ that mouth of yours in more useful pursuits?" She asked suggestively.

"May I ask what kind of useful pursuits you have in mind?" Greg asked, taking in a sharp breath when she shifted her leg further up between his.

"I don't know... " She said leaning in to place soft kisses across his pecs before pulling back to look at him, "I'm open to suggestions though."

Greg screwed his face in thought, "What about..." He leaned in as if to kiss her lips, detouring and placing a kiss on her nose, "This?"

"Hmm." Lisa grinned at him, "That's close, but not quite what I was hoping for..."

"Oh. Well... maybe this..." He kissed along the side of her mouth, his tongue tracing the corner and sucking gently at the skin.

"That's better. Maybe a little more to the left..."She suggested, "Here let me help you..." She offered turning her mouth to his so their lips would meet in a soft kiss. His hands ran up her back, tracing her spine and kneading the muscles as her hands clasped onto his neck her fingers curling around him. She slipped her tongue into his mouth and he captured it, sucking on it gently before she gained control of the kiss, shifting and opening further to him. His hands shifted to her chest, tracing along her ribcage and finally lightly cupping the bottom of her breasts.

"Mmm." Lisa sighed several minutes later when the kiss ended, moving her forehead to rest on Greg's chin as he stroked a hand over her hair. They lay in silence for several moments listening to their measured breathing.

"I hate to be the one to ruin the mood, but according to that clock it's a quarter 'til one. We should probably get up." Greg commented smiling at her protesting grunt and leaning back to press a kiss to the top of her head. "I heard your friend moving around a little while ago too. She's probably wondering what's up..."

"Oh my god! I totally forgot Kris was here." Lisa exclaimed, pulling back her eyes wide in surprise before groaning and burying her face in Greg's chest, "Ugh, I don't want to get up, I want to just lay in bed with you all day." She whined.

"Well I want to _lay _you in bed all day too." He replied cheekily.

"That doesn't even warrant a response." She said lifting her head and giving him a dirty look as her hand stealthily moved down and pinched his waist.

"Ow!" He yelled, clasping her hand and rolling over her, pinning her lightly with his weight. "You gotta stop it with that stuff." He ordered.

Lisa moved her legs around his waist, clamping him in place, "Sure, as soon as you stop provoking me to it."

He smiled at the feel of her legs enclosing him. "But you make it so easy." He commented, moving his hands to her thighs.

Lisa glared up at him, tightening her legs, "Keep talking and your stupid comments are going be the only thing that you get easily."

"That sounds like a challenge." Greg said smugly, running his hands up to her hips and gripping her as he redistributed his weight.

"What it sounds like, is a fact." Lisa replied, moving her hands up to his chest, bracing herself and catching him off guard as she released him from the confines of her legs, pushed him off of her and hopped out of the bed.

"Time to get up!" She said cheerily giving him a sunny grin over her shoulder as she headed towards the bathroom.

After a moment of lying in the bed stunned, Greg smiled to himself and hopped out of the bed following after her. He surprised her making her yelp as he smacked her ass, passing her and looking over his shoulder with the same grin she had shot him, "Yeah, time to get up." 

* * *

><p>"God, would you two knock it off? It's way too early to be that cheerful." Kris whined, dropping her head down, "I mean I get it, obviously you screwed each other's brains out last night, but can't you see that I'm suffering over here?" She pleaded, though the words were muffled as her head was resting on her arms which were crossed on the table.<p>

"Oh, hon' I'm sorry. I always forget what a horrible drunk you are." Lisa teased, pulling out of Greg's arms and walking over to her friend. "You want me to massage your head?" She asked moving back her friend's hair and placing her fingers at her temples, applying even pressure and moving her hands in a circular motion.

"Oh, that feels good." Kris sighed, "I took like three aspirin and they still aren't working."

They were in the kitchen, Greg still leaning against the counter waiting on the coffee to finish percolating as he watched the two friends at the table in the breakfast nook. It was odd for him to be having such a domestic moment, even more so that he was enjoying it. He watched them for a few minutes before speaking.

"Do you guys want to go out and get something to eat or should I raid the pantry?"

"You can cook?" Kris asked lifting her head the surprise evident in her tone.

"You're going to cook?" Lisa chorused in the same tone as her friend, both girls turning to look at him.

"I'm terribly offended at how shocked you sound." He said his hand coming up to cover over his heart. "I'm no Julia Child, but I know my way around a kitchen."

"Well I would love to see this Mr. Just because I have cookbooks doesn't mean I cook." Lisa said teasingly, removing her hands from Kris' temples and sitting down on the other side of the table, her back to the window as she faced both of them.

"I second that." Kris said raising her hand and waving it like a first grader.

"You idiot, put your hand down." Lisa admonished her friend swatting at her hand. "No meat in the same pan though. Unless it's fish, I'm okay with fish." Lisa looked over at him to see what he thought of this. Some people were really put off by the whole vegetarian thing. His eyebrows lifted a little and he nodded.

"I don't care if you guys eat it though; I'm not a Nazi about it or anything." Lisa declared.

"Oh, please, you so are." Kris scoffed. "Remember that time we were at Rachel's house and her dad-"

"You are NOT telling that story." Lisa cut in with a pointed look, "So you can stop right there. That was a LONG time ago. I have mellowed out." Lisa finished a little huffily.

"Oh, please Kris do continue, I want to hear this." Greg said over his shoulder as he started pouring coffee into the three mugs that he had taken down earlier.

"So as I was saying-" Kris said smiling in his direction.

"Kris, I swear to God if you keep going I will tell him about you and Aaron." Lisa said looking at her friend with an eyebrow arched in challenge.

"You would not!" Kris replied shocked.

Lisa leaned back in her seat and stared at her friend, "Wouldn't I?"

Greg came over to the table with two mugs in one hand and the cream that Lisa had taken out in the other, sitting them down in the center of the table and looking between the two girls. From the crestfallen look on Kris' face it was clear he was not hearing the story about Lisa. "Guess that means I'm not getting to hear any juicy gossip from either of you, huh?" He stated, lightly patting Kris' shoulder.

"I guess it's not your lucky day." Lisa returned, reaching across the table and taking one of the mugs.

"_Actually_, I did get lucky already today." He smirked planting his hands on the table and leaning over to give her a quick kiss, tugging at a lock of her hair that was still wet from their shower this morning when he pulled back.

"Well I got luckier." She said as he moved away smiling into her coffee as she remembered the feel of his body pressing her against the tile wall in the shower stall.

"A couple of times." He commented smugly.

Lisa raised a brow at him and fixed him with a lustful glare, "You don't have any reason to complain-"

"Uh, I am still here and for the record that was way more information than I needed or wanted." Kris interjected, "So in future keep that kind of talk to yourself, okay. Thanks." She finished, pulling the other coffee towards herself and ending the conversation before they jumped each other on the breakfast table.

"Oh, please, I've heard worse from you on several occasions." Lisa retorted looking at her friend.

"Not in front of the guy who was cause for those occasions and certainly not looking like I was ready to jump him right in front of you." Kris replied lifting her mug and taking a sip as she fixed her friend with a 'so there' stare.

"I was not looking at him like that." Lisa denied hotly.

"You kinda were." Greg contradicted giving her a knowing look.

"See, even he thought you were gonna go all exhibitionist." Kris said pointing at Greg before they began laughing at how outraged Lisa looked.

Lisa looked between the two of them, her eyes narrowing, "Great, now you're ganging up on me. Well the both of you can shut the hell up."

"Ooh, touchy touchy, but I still love you." Kris mocked, leaning over to hug Lisa.

Lisa shrugged away avoiding the contact before finally giving in. "Yeah, yeah, me too." She said before pushing Kris back over to her seat.

Greg pushed off the table and headed back to the other side of the kitchen. "Okay, well let me take stock of the food situation and I'll let you know what I can whip up."

He listened to the girls talking, not really focusing on what they were saying as he looked through the fridge, cabinets and pantry. Everything was well stocked and there were even some prepared dishes that looked really appetizing, but he wanted to show off his culinary skills so he figured he wouldn't mention them. He came across a waffle maker and decided that would be quick and easy.

"You guys okay with Belgian waffles and scrambled eggs with peppers, tomatoes, onions and mushrooms?" Greg asked looking over his shoulder as he reached into the fridge to start taking out some of the ingredients.

"I'm so hungry I would eat anything." Kris said.

Greg nodded, "I'll take that as a yes. Lisa?"

"Sounds good," She smiled at him setting down her mug of coffee, "Do you want some help?"

"Sure," He said, "You can cut the vegetables while I make the waffle batter."

"I'll supervise." Kris said standing up and moving into Lisa's vacated chair so that she could talk with them without having to look over her shoulder.

The three of them talked and laughed as Lisa and Greg prepared the meal. Greg was very comfortable in the kitchen and Lisa got a great deal of pleasure watching him moving about, stirring and mixing things, and having her taste the whipped cream he made for the waffles.

Kris got up to help set dishes and utensils out on the table as Greg removed the last waffle from the waffle maker. They moved the plates of food to the table and sat down, all digging in at once. Kris was the first to compliment his cooking, moaning deeply over her first bite of waffle and whipped cream along with some strawberries Lisa dug out of the freezer and defrosted. Kris mumbled around her food that that Lisa was lucky that she found Greg first or she'd have a fight on her hands.

They finished eating, clearing the table and loading the dishwasher. Over breakfast they decided that they would go catch a movie later that evening. Greg left them to finish cleaning up, and headed off to the bathroom. Coming out, he found the two friends lying on their stomachs on the bed in the guest room arguing about which film they should see. He joined them, lying on his back next to Lisa, his legs hanging off the side of the bed and moving his hand up to rub across the back of her thigh as he turned his face into her shoulder. She lifted up and looked down at him smiling as she raised a hand to brush back the hair from his forehead and leaned down to give him a soft kiss on his cheek before turning and resuming her conversation with Kris.


	16. Chapter 16

Greg lounged on the bed shirtless; his pants were low on his hips and his elbows propped him up, pushing into the bed behind him. He rubbed lazy circles on his abdomen with his right hand and watched Lisa moving about the room preparing for their night of clubbing. Their door was closed, but he could hear the din of music and conversation from their group of friends who had already arrived to pre-drink and eat before they headed out.

He glanced over at the clock and saw it was nearing nine o'clock. They were walking distance from Palladium, not that he was worried about getting to the club before midnight, he just wanted to make sure he timed their first hit right. Yesterday, he met up with an old contact and got enough Ecstasy for the night. He had it in his bag as a surprise for the evening and had been thinking about it ever since he purchased it – never had he anticipated getting high with anyone more than he was right now.

At that thought, he pushed himself off the bed and walked over to the vanity where Lisa was currently leaned over applying a light dusting of blue eye shadow to her eyelid.

"Hey," She said smiling at him as she made eye contact with his reflection in the mirror. "You know, I bought you that shirt to wear." She said, turning slightly and placing her hand on his shoulder giving and giving it a light push.

"I figured I'd wait until you were all put together so you could button me up." He told her placing his hands at her waist and staring at their reflection. They were opposites: him tall and her short, his hair light and hers dark, but they looked good together. He squeezed her lightly lowering his head to kiss her shoulder, "You look amazing."

Lisa tilted her head to the side and lifted a hand to his cheek, "Thank you." She said softly.

Greg continued to pepper kisses along her shoulder as she reached for one of the white plastic hoop earrings she was going to wear and put it on. She was wearing a dress similar to the off the shoulder sweater dress he had seen her try on while on their shopping excursion, but the material was more like a stretchy t-shirt and it was baby blue color that perfectly matched his shirt. She new from experience that it got really hot in the clubs and she did not want to risk fainting or overheating.

He groaned, but released her and stepped back when she nudged him off her to put on her other earring.

"Okay!" She said plopping her lips together, making sure the lipstick she had applied was still in place, and turning towards Greg, "Let's get you dressed."

She eagerly grabbed his hand and drug him back towards the bed where his shirt was laid out. He already had on the white dress pants and she had conceded to the white converse as well, but she refused to let him protest his way out of the baby blue tuxedo shirt she had spied while they were in a thrift shop. Its color perfectly complemented his eyes and when she had made him try it on in the shop it fit nicely in the chest, but was loose enough in the arms that he would be able to roll up the sleeves.

She could not wait to see him in it again.

Greg sighed as he allowed himself to be towed over to the bed. When Lisa released his hand to pick up the shirt, he unbuttoned his pants and spread his legs slightly to keep them from falling off. She turned with the shirt and he extended his arm letting her put it on him, then taking over.

"I can't believe I let you convince me to wear matching outfits." He grumped, pulling the shirt around his body and rolling his shoulders to adjust it properly.

Lisa glared up at him, bringing the loose ends together and buttoning him from the bottom, "Just think of it as an investment on future returns," She reasoned, "Your cooperation now, ensures my cooperation later."

He scoffed, "My _investments _earlier ensure your future cooperation... forever," He replied smugly leaning down and attempting to kiss her.

Lisa leaned away, keeping herself upright by gripping his arms, "Seriously?" She asked incredulously her eyebrows lifting as she looked up at him, "You really think that line gets you a kiss?"

Greg shrugged, "I thought my presence alone did that."

Lisa groaned, rolling her eyes at him, "It's no wonder you haven't had any relationships last longer than a week; you become completely unbearable once you put out."

"Hey," Greg protested wrapping his arms around her and trapping her against him, "I like to think I'm completely unbearable _all_ the time."

"Well it's hard to argue with that," She agreed looking up at him with a smile, and finally tilting her chin in an invitation to kiss her.

Greg did not hesitate, closing his eyes as he moved his lips over hers and enjoyed the combination of the taste of her lipstick and her own flavor. She had just shifted her hands out of his hold and was stretching up on her toes to deepen the kiss when a knock sounded at the door.

"Hey you two, it's after nine!" Kris yelled through the door, "Put some clothes on and get your asses out here so we can go party!" she demanded.

The moment effectively shattered, they separated from each other. Greg released Lisa who headed towards door, as he yelled a 'yes, mother' in that direction and walked over to the chair where he had placed his duffle bag to get out the bag of pills and his wallet.

Lisa opened the door and smiled at her friend who was still standing on the other side, her demeanor indicating she was about to pitch a fit if they did not come out soon.

"Oh good, you're both dressed," Kris commented looking over Lisa's shoulder into the room. "Aww and you're wearing matching outfits." She teased playfully.

"Shut up," Lisa admonished looking at the tights and t-shirt combo her friend had on with a smile. "You look cute too," she said. Her eyes fell to her friend's feet, "except for the shoes – the shoes are ridiculous." She finished.

Greg approached at that moment, leaning over Lisa's shoulder as she was standing in the doorway, and eyed Kris' shoes – she was wearing a pair of the tie dyed high tops he had liked earlier. "I approve." He said lifting the hand holding the bag and giving her a thumbs up.

Kris' smiled at his endorsement, her eyes suddenly widening as they locked on the bag of pills, "Is that E?" She asked hopefully. "If that's E, I just want to say right now that I never had any doubts about how awesome you are and that I love you, Greg." She said sincerely

Lisa turned her gaze towards the bag and then to Greg, a tiny smile on her face, "When did you get that?" She asked.

"Yesterday," He told her, "Part of it is Jacob's, but I got enough for the three of us and two other people – I figured you guys might have friends who were interested."

"We definitely know people interested," Kris informed him. "I'm one of them." She lifted her wrist and looked at her digital watch, "It's already half past nine, so we should probably take those soon and then head out."

Greg nodded, "You haven't had anything to drink - alcohol?" He specified, holding the bag aloft and handing it to her once she nodded in the affirmative. He watched as she all but skipped back to the living room, turning to Lisa with another question, "You guys have done E before, right?"

"Yep," She confirmed, lacing her fingers with his as they walked down the hall. "Only once though." She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, a sly smile on her face, "Why'd you pick it?"

"What do you mean?" He asked furrowing his brow in confusion as he looked towards her.

"Well there are lots of things great for dancing and for trippy stuff, but you picked the one that's all emotional, touchy feely." She said innocently.

Greg caught the glint in her eye and grinned at her, "I did, did I?" He asked, "Can't imagine why I would want to do that." He teased, tugging at her hair as they turned the corner into the living room and parting from her as she was tugged away by a group of her friends and he spotted Jacob.

It was an unusually warm winter, so while it was cold, it was not freezing outside. The night's revelers were able to get away with heavy jackets in lieu of full on winter coats. Consequently, the streets were streaming with other groups and couples headed to bars or other New Year's Eve destinations.

After a brief stop at a corner store to purchase candies, they headed towards their destinations. Almost half of them were going to Palladium because Jacob's girlfriend new the guy at the door, but he could only get six of them in, the other four having to pay the cover which they had all agreed to split. The rest of their group was going to Limelight, where they had all agreed to meet up later. Lisa and Kris both knew the door guy there and Jacob and his partner were headed to a house party after midnight.

Since most of them were happily tripping they were enjoying the walk. As many of the people they passed were just as ready to engage with them in boisterous conversation, they realised they were not the only ones who had decided to get high tonight. Greg was zoning out a little on the stoplights and lamps that were lit along the street. He particularly loved the feel of Lisa's hand as she traced patterns on his palm. Kris was chatting a mile a minute and her energy level was through the roof. They were waiting at a crosswalk a couple of blocks away from the club when a bubble of emotion welled up inside Greg and he turned towards Lisa with a slightly goofy smile on his face.

Lisa sensed his stared and turned towards him, "Your smile is so beautiful!" She exclaimed with a gasp."You should smile more!" She insisted, turning towards him and placing her free hand against his neck.

Greg's smile widened and he leaned over and kissed her, his hand coming up to trace along her shoulder until he felt someone tugging him away, "No, I want to kiss Lisa." He whined.

"We have to cross the street now, you can kiss Lisa on the other side," Someone promised and he nodded his head, never taking his eyes off of her as he stepped off the curb and joined the group already crossing the street.

As soon as they reached the other side, he put his arms around Lisa and pulled her to him, "We're on the other side," He told her smiling as he leaned down to resume their kiss.

"Oh, that's so... you guys are so..." Kris mumbled wistfully, coming up beside them and wrapping her arms around them both. "I'm so glad you found someone Lisa; I'm really happy for you!" she said her voice full of love and sincerity.

At the feel of Kris' arm, Lisa pulled back from her kiss, to wrap an arm around her friend.

"Thank you, Kris. That means a lot to me." She looked up at Greg, "_You_ mean a lot to me."

At first Greg was confused by the interruption, but when he saw it was Kris he shifted and brought an arm around her too - he liked Kris he thought to himself - and listened to the exchange between the two girls. At Lisa's words he turned his attention to her, "Yeah?" He questioned a huge smile on his face, his eyes twinkling.

"Yeah," she replied, pushing up on her tiptoes and planting a kiss on the side of his mouth.

"Me too." He replied earnestly, "Me too."

Jacob yelled for the little group to come on. They heeded his cry, morphing into a mass three abreast with Lisa in the middle, and making their way down the block and towards Palladium.

It was four minutes to midnight and Greg had just finished passing around a bottle of water. The club was packed and the body heat coming off the crowd was intense. Though he was enjoying his high, a part of his mind stayed focused on their needs and he made sure that everyone in his group took breaks to cool down and stayed properly hydrated. He was also enjoying sharing candy with Lisa, at present they were rather lewdly enjoying a cherry Blow Pop.

Greg had just pulled the sucker from Lisa's mouth and put it into his own, when the DJ started playing Prince's _1999_ and the club erupted with a burst of noise and energy. Lisa and Kris squealed that this was _their _new year's song and immediately started singing to each other, Lisa taking Prince's vocals. Greg smiled at them and moved up behind Lisa as she danced with her friend. At the feel of his body against hers, she leaned back and sang a line to him before turning her attention back to her best friend. He had rolled his sleeves up by this point and the brush of her skin against him as she bumped against him sent chills up his spine.

Suddenly, lights started flashing and the DJ announced that it was one minute to midnight as he faded the previous song out and gradually mixed in a pulsing techno beat. Their group came back together, everyone eagerly anticipating the countdown to 1986. The couples were paired together and those unattached were in clusters among them. Lisa turned so she was more securely in Greg's embrace and put her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat as the odd silence of anticipation grew around them.

When the countdown began the group of friends moved together into one cluster and yelled out the numbers at the top of their lungs with all of the other revelers. Midnight was met with several bursts of multicolored lights, a shower of shining confetti and a huge balloon drop from above. Everyone shouted 'Happy New Year!', raising their hands in the air to bat at balloons and loving the feel of the confetti as it grazed their fingertips.

Kris pulled her best friend into a tight hug, telling her how happy she was to start another year with her and how much she loved her, kissing her lightly; Lisa returned her sentiments. Kris then pulled back, grabbed Greg and gave him a loud smacking kiss on the cheek before turning away to wish the rest of the group a happy new year. Greg playfully yelled after Kris that he knew she couldn't resist him, before he was pulled into a hug by his teammate and was then bounced around the group wishing everyone a happy new year.

He finally managed to get Lisa in his arms again, just as the music morphed into A-ha's _Take On Me_. They stood for several moments looking intently into each other's eyes; the music and lights swirling around them, bits of confetti still wafting down and everything heightened by the Ecstasy.

"Take on me?" He teased in a breathy singsong as he leaned towards her.

Lisa smiled up at him, "Take me on," she sang back, pushing up on her toes and wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

"With pleasure," He mumbled against her mouth, moving his hands to her ass and lifting her higher against him as their lips finally met in their first kiss of the New Year.


	17. Chapter 17

The cab pulled up to the curb and the small group paid before exiting amidst a chorus of happy new years. Led by Kris, they made their way to the entrance, walking past the long line of revelers waiting outside of Lime light.

When Greg and Lisa caught up with Kris, she was just being let out of an embrace by the young man guarding the club's door. He was just asking where Lisa was when she walked up with Greg in tow.

"Lisa!" He squealed, pausing to take in her outfit and giving her an approving smile, before embracing her. "Happy New Year, honey!" he spoke into her ear.

She grinned, "Happy New Year, Jakob," she responded pulling out of the hug and turned to reach for Greg's hand intent on introducing him to her friend.

She had just turned back towards Jakob, her mouth open, when she was cut off by him.

"Oh my god! The Love Doctor!" he exclaimed, grabbing Greg's hand. "You fell right off the face of the earth. It's been what, two years almost? Never thought I'd see you again."

Greg's cheeks deepened in a color not brought on by the cold evening air and he closed his eyes hoping to hell that neither Lisa nor Kris heard the nickname. "Hey Jakob." He acknowledged with a half grin.

"The Love Doctor!" Kris bellowed from beside him, before she began laughing hysterically. Turning to Lisa, she asked " Have you been checked out by the Love Doctor?"

"Oh, I have stories that I'm willing to tell." Jakob conspiratorially stage whispered to Kris, stopping when he turned to tease Lisa and Greg and noticed the strained expression on her face and his tensed posture.

Lisa froze at the nickname. It reminded her of the hesitations she had about Greg when she had first who he was. She had a pretty good idea of how he had gotten the nickname and it didn't set well with her. It was going to be hard to shake it off, but she knew that was in the past and she trusted him.

Greg sensed Lisa's mental pull back and gave her a questioning look. She gave Kris a half smile and finally took hold of Greg's hand. When she took his hand, he squeezed hers, relieved that his past was not going to come into play tonite.

"I'm going to have some people over for a first sunrise party after we close up here. I'd love to have all of you over!" Jakob continued as he started stamping them and putting on their VIP bracelets.

"Are you still living in the building off of Christopher street?" Greg asked.

"Yep. Tyler will be there and most of the rest of everybody. If you guys get out of here before 4am, I'll see you there when I get off."

"Definitely," Kris replied, leaning up to give Jakob a parting kiss, as he finished up and let them into the club.

*

Greg had always loved this club. It was originally a church and a lot of the features remained; he was very into the irony of getting smashed at the altar of debauchery.

They took the stairs up to the VIP balcony, which surrounded and overlooked the entire dance floor. They stopped several times to chat with people Lisa and Kris had met the previous summer and a surprising amount of times by people who knew The Love Doctor. When they got up to the lounge area, Kris made her way to the bar to bring back the first round while Greg and Lisa took over one of the empty sectionals.

They settled in, Greg's hand falling on her leg and tracing patterns on Lisa's thigh as they waited on Kris to come back. Lisa was stroking his arm and had leaned in to kiss him when they were interrupted.

"Greg!" a shocked female voice exclaimed. "Greg House is that you?"

The blonde didn't wait for a reply, instead she launched herself at him, barely giving Lisa enough time to move out of the way. Lisa's initial surprise gave way to an angry stare that was quickly becoming vicious as she stared at the woman sprawled over Greg's lap.

"I've missed you so much!" The blonde whined, before leaning back and hitting him hard in the chest. " You stupid idiot! I still haven't forgiven you for cheating off that dumbass. What the hell were you thinking? Wait, why are you here?"

"Hey," Greg exclaimed, happy to see her; a happiness that quickly dissolved as he lifted his hand to block her punch. "Whoa, Calm down." He directed, grabbing her wrists with one hand and moving his other to her waist and directing her attention to the girl seated next to them. "Lauren, this is my girlfriend Lisa, Lisa this is my best friend Lauren."

"Girlfriend? You have a girlfriend and I don't know about it." She gawked. "I hate you." She seethed leaning back off his lap and over toward Lisa. "Oh my god you're so beautiful!" She said pulling her hands free, and taking Lisa's in her own, then looking back at her friend, "Greg she's so beautiful."

Greg smirked.

Lisa was looking very confused and her expression didn't go unnoticed. " Oh. Oh! This probably looks bad," Lauren began, waving at herself in Greg's lap, "But I assure you my interest in this guy is not romantic at all. Not that it's crazy for you to have a romantic interest in him. He's a great guy - well he can be, when he's not being an ass, but you must already know that." She finished, shifting off of his lap and onto the couch between Lisa and Greg.

Greg rolled his eyes. " I went to undergrad with Lauren." He explained. "She's at Harvard, now though..." he looked at her questioningly.

"Yeah, Yeah. Why didn't you tell me you were going to be in the city? I talked to you just last week." She admonished.

"It's not Boston so I didn't think I needed to. What are you doing here anyway?"

Lauren blushed. "I'm on a date with this guy - I met him while he was doing a campus tour. He just graduated undergrad." She finished in a whisper. "He's so young, but he's too adorable."

Talking about her date seemed to trigger that he wasn't with her; she sat up and looked around the room finally spotting him and lifting her arm to wave him over. At almost the same moment, he arrived Kris walked up her hands full of drinks. The younger man, immediately offered her assistance.

House noticed how his eyes, seemed to linger on Kris after he helped her pass out the drinks before finally settling in next to Lauren and introducing himself to the rest of the group.

"James Wilson." He offered with a crooked smile, moving some of his unruly locks off of his forehead.

Greg watched him for the rest of the evening. He decided to keep his observations to himself, until he noticed James circumspectly checking out Lisa. He leaned over then, "If you're planning on cheating on Lauren, I'm planning on making your life a living hell. If your planning on anything with Lisa, then I'm planning on killing you."

He leaned back and gave the younger man a smile, patted him on the back roughly and fixed him with a cutting glare.

James flushed, his hands flailing awkwardly. "I'm not... I... I can't control the looking," he stuttered, "But I swear I'm not planning on doing anything with anybody except Lauren," he promised.

*

Greg rested his chin atop Lisa's head and she held his arms tightly around her as they stood amid fifty people on a rooftop silently watching the sun rising up over the buildings to the east. The morning was cold, clear and bright and they were huddled together in couples and groups under blankets and sheets. She felt Greg kiss the top of her head and squeeze their entwined fingers as she leaned back into him, sighing a breath of white mist into the chilled air.

Once the sun finished its initial ascent and had settled in the sky for several seconds, a smattering of claps became a hearty applause punctuated by a final chorus of happy new year's. The jubilation eventually morphed from the mouth of one lone singer into a laughing rendition of 'We Are The World' as the group, bedraggled from a full night of clubbing, found its second wind.

After the revelry died down, everyone began making their way back into the apartment building. Lisa and Greg slowly followed the crowd down the narrow staircase, diverging with the stream that headed back into Jakob's apartment.

Lisa immediately headed for the bathroom and Greg went and collected Kris' coat out of one of the bedrooms before making his way to the pile of pillows and mattresses that was the bed for a sleeping Kris and a couple of other people who had passed out in the earlier hours of the day.

Greg bent over and gently shook her sleeping form until Kris began grumbling and shifted away from him.

"Come on sleepyhead, time to wakey wakey." He cajoled.

He was about to poke her in her side, when Lisa came up and flopped herself on top of her friend, laughing as she was summarily pushed off and greeted with detailed threats to her life, as her friend pushed herself into a seated position and took her coat from Greg's outstretched hand.

The small group said their goodbyes and made their way outside. They walked the few blocks over to Hudson street and quickly found a cab to take them back to the apartment. The girls fell asleep on either side of Greg and he let them stay that way until he had paid the fare, waking Lisa first and then Kris who was still pretty much dead on her feet. Once they were out of the cab, he hefted the redhead onto his back piggyback style and instructed her to hold on as Lisa led them into the apartment.

He carried Kris to the guest bedroom, Lisa following and helping to settle her friend in bed before coming to find him in the kitchen where he was draining a glass of water. He filled the cup again, offering it to her and stood watching as she took a couple of gulps before setting it on the counter and balancing her hand on the counter's edge as she tilted her head to the side and looked up at him.

They stared at each other for several seconds before she reached out a hand and hooked it one of his belt loops, pulling him towards her and guiding him into a kiss. He ran his tongue along her lip and teased her before capturing her lips with his own as her hands slid around his shoulders and caressed down his back.

As the kiss deepened and her hands trailed back up and caressed his nape before she dug her nails into his neck, he shifted their bodies, turning her towards the counter and bending to slide his hands up her thighs and under her dress, cupping her ass as he lifted her to the counter top.

Her legs opened to take him in and twined around his back locking him in place as his hands followed their path back down her thighs, coming to a rest at the backs of her knees.

Lisa moved forward to press closer to him and the feel of her firm breasts against his chest filled Greg with an urgent need to have them in his mouth. He shifted back, pulling her dress down to expose the top of her bra and in his rush, he moved her back abruptly and knocked her head against the cabinets behind them.

It was this clumsiness that made Lisa aware of her surroundings and her hands shot up to grasp the sides of Greg's face, pulling him away from the soft flesh that he was so eager to get to.

His eyes shot up to hers startled at the interruption; his gaze showing that he completely lost in her and confused as to what was happening.

She looked down at him, smiling smugly at the fact that he was so dazed, "Bedroom."

He agreed with a smile, stepping back so she could hop off of the counter, only to scoop her right back up and carry her the rest of the way to the bedroom.


End file.
